West Ham appointed former Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion and Swansea City manager Graham Potter as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement after ending the Spaniard’s six-month reign on Wednesday.
Englishman Potter, who signed a two-and-a-half-year deal, has spent more than 21 months out of football since leaving Stamford Bridge, where his reign lasted less than seven months during the 2022/23 season, including 11 defeats in 31 games.
The 49-year-old will have the chance to end his new club’s two-game losing streak when West Ham visit Aston Villa in Third round of the FA Cup on Friday (20:00 GMT).
The Hammers return to Premier League action at home to ninth-placed Fulham on January 14 (7.30pm) before visiting Crystal Palace – currently one place below them – four days later (4pm).
Potter’s Premier League away game will also be at Villa on January 26 (4.30pm).
West Ham United are delighted to welcome Graham Potter as the club’s new head coach ⚒️
— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 9, 2025
Potter excited about the opportunity
Potter told the club’s official website: “I’m delighted to be here. It was important for me to wait until a job appeared that I felt suited me, and equally suited the club I was joining. That’s the feeling I have with West Ham United.
“My discussions with the president and the board of directors have been very positive and constructive, we share the same values of hard work and great energy to create a solid foundation that can produce success, and we are on the same wavelength in terms of what is needed in the short term and then how we want move the club forward in the medium and long term.
“West Ham United is a huge club, in the heart of London, with a huge fan base and great support around the world. I saw the scenes that followed their 2023 European Conference League win and it was clear that this is a club with everything in place to become consistently successful, on and off the pitch.
“The club has progressed quite well in recent years and has ensured that there are very strong foundations to build on. The European trophy is not won by chance – there has to be a good foundation in a football club for that to happen, and now the challenge is to take it and build the next steps, develop a team and a club that the fans can be proud of.”
Record by Graham Potter
Potter joined Chelsea in September 2022 from Brighton, where he built a reputation for a progressive style of football and ability to nurture young talent in his first Premier League job.
The Seagulls were fourth in the table after six games into Potter’s fourth season in charge and Chelsea never eclipsed that position during his short tenure, sitting 11th at the time of his departure.
Chelsea’s best success under Potter was a run of four straight wins in the Champions League group stage and overturning a 1-0 deficit in the first leg of the beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the round of 16although they were kicked out by Real Madrid after his dismissal.
Under Potter, Albion enjoyed their highest-ever final position in ninth thanks to five wins and one defeat in their final nine matches of the 2021/22 season, overcoming a slump of six straight defeats and just one goal between February and March.
Brighton finished 15th in Potter’s first campaign in 2019/20. and 16th at the end of the following season, going more than a year without a win in the domestic league between 2020 and 2021.
Lopetegui fired
Lopetegui, whose career includes managerial roles at Spain, Real Madrid, Porto, Wolves and Sevilla, was appointed as David Moyes’ replacement in May, but defeats in his first three home games have seen the 58-year-old quickly face pressure.
He oversaw a net spend of £85.2m in the summer but has lost nine and won six of his 20 league games, with West Ham in 14th place after Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Manchester City, seven points above the relegation zone .
Moyes won West Ham’s first European trophy since 1965 by lifting the Conference League in 2022/23. as part of his second term at the head, which lasted four and a half years.
