Is Graham Potter under pressure at West Ham?

It is common practice for there to be tension in dressing rooms at football clubs but it is damning for West Ham United that bust-ups have been a regular theme under two managers this season.

Julen Lopetegui, who replaced David Moyes in May 2024 upon the expiry of his contract, clashed with Jean-Clair Todibo, Alphonse Areola and Mohammed Kudus during his ill-fated eight-month spell as head coach. Lopetegui’s failure to create a harmonious atmosphere culminated in the Spaniard being the shortest-lived managerial appointment in the club’s 124-year history, sacked after just 22 games.

But tension has also been brewing since Graham Potter succeeded Lopetegui in January. According to sources The Athletic has spoken to, who all spoke under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, it has emerged that there have been fights between the players. It has been a tempestuous dressing room, and Potter faces a tough challenge of lifting morale, with West Ham winless in their seven Premier League games, their longest such run since January 2023. Their last victory was against Leicester City on February 27.

Club insiders admit the pressure is felt across the board but remain hopeful of Potter turning it around. The head coach signed a two-and-a-half-year contract — and this deal does not include a break clause. The club were initially only willing to give Potter a contract until the end of the season, which he was reluctant to sign. Karren Brady, the vice-chairman, then led negotiations, and all parties agreed to Potter’s terms. Potter was not West Ham’s only option. The club’s hierarchy also interviewed former Milan manager Paulo Fonseca, who flew to London to meet majority shareholder David Sullivan. Fonseca held positive talks, but his camp got the impression Potter was West Ham’s preferred option.

But there has not been a new-manager bounce like Moyes and Vitor Pereira’s impact at Everton and Wolves, respectively. Since Potter’s appointment on January 9, West Ham rank 16th for form, eight points behind Everton and 12 points behind Pereira’s side. Moyes’ influence at Everton means he was named the Premier League manager of the month for February. Pereira is in the running for April’s award, along with Aston Villa’s Unai Emery, Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe and Liverpool’s Arne Slot.

West Ham have sporadically shown progression under Potter. There were encouraging performances against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, but Potter has a paltry return of three wins in 14 Premier League games. The nadir of his spell was last weekend’s 3-2 capitulation against Brighton & Hove Albion. Supporters voiced their displeasure at forward Niclas Fullkrug’s demotion to the bench, who launched a diatribe against his team-mates after the draw against Southampton the week prior. In Potter’s post-match press conference at Brighton, he looked like a man under pressure when he said: “If you want me to swear, I can swear.”

He arrived at Friday’s press conference at Rush Green in a happier mood, but candidly admitted how West Ham’s struggles have affected his family life.

“We were close to winning (against Brighton), like we were against Liverpool,” said Potter. “You’re close to a good result, close to another decent performance and a positive victory result. And then all of a sudden, boof, and then you’re back into everything’s bad results-wise, which it is. You’ve got to deal with that but time is a great healer.

“They’ve (my family) known me long enough to know that, ‘Just leave Daddy alone a little bit. Just leave him be. Let’s go for a walk, let’s take the dog out, let’s just leave him to curse at his computer or whatever’. And this is the thing that you have to try all the time. I think it’s an ongoing battle for us all. How do you get that balance? But this notion that you can just have an experience like that and then just be alright with people. It just doesn’t work. I just can’t do it. It takes time to get it out of your system.”

Summer signings will dictate Potter’s success. He predicts an exciting window but pursuing key targets will be arduous with no European football to offer. West Ham have to sell before they can buy and sources at West Ham say Kudus is expected to depart this summer to fund their recruitment. But the club will not entertain any offers for captain Jarrod Bowen, whose contract expires in the summer of 2030.

Kudus is expected to be sold (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

The squad will be overhauled with stalwarts Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski, Michail Antonio and Vladimir Coufal entering the final months of their deals. Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez, Guido Rodriguez and Emerson Palmieri have uncertain futures, while the loans of Carlos Soler, from Paris Saint-Germain, and Evan Ferguson, from Brighton & Hove Albion, are unlikely to be converted into permanent deals. Potter was reluctant to say who does not feature in his plans, but had an interesting observation about his squad.

“It’s hard to say at the moment,” he said when asked how much change he anticipates there being. “I think I wouldn’t want to quantify it. There’s a saying, isn’t there? If you can’t change people, change people. We have to make decisions that make sure the club is in a better place going forward. We’re working with the players we have. We’re working all the time to try to get the level we want.”

Potter’s side needs to show improvement in the coming weeks, otherwise the lurching turbulence will continue to gather pace.

(Top photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

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