Graham Potter is currently receiving a tsunami of compliments from players queuing up to praise the new Hammers gaffer.
Whilst nobody is crass enough to come out and openly criticise the training sessions of former boss Julen Lopetegui, the comments from players about Potter’s methods are revealing.
Edson Álvarez, Lucas Paquetá, Tomáš Souček, and now Andy Irving are just a small cross-section of the squad who are clearly loving life under the former Brighton boss.
Irving got his first Premier League start and acquitted himself well in the 2-1 loss to Chelsea and was full of praise for West Ham’s new manager:
“I think since the Head Coach has come in, it’s been brilliant. Anytime he or the staff have spoken with me, it’s been really positive, and I think it’s been like that with every player. Every day in training has been brilliant, really enjoyable.”
The statements from players speak volumes and are a stark contrast to what was happening previously at the club. Lopetegui, by his own admission, struggled to communicate with his team, who are now clearly enjoying themselves.
There’s more to come too, with Potter pledging to slowly introduce more of his methods, but it is clear that his new group have very quickly bought into the ethos brought by him and his coaching staff
All that seems missing now is a win …… but it’s much better hearing the upbeat news about players and the coaches …… ⚒️⚒️ COYI
Sounds like mysticism and black magic, I know, but any advantage an elite athlete can get, albeit psychological, the more likely they will overcome the daemons that limit their performance level.
Conversely, put in purely negative terms, if the athlete is miserable psychologically, he’ll inevitably perform far below his peak. He won’t train, eat, or sleep right, and it will take longer to recover from the matches and from the ball-breaking sessions imposed by the gaffer.
Potter’s always been about this type of people-managing. He might not be strong in every area he wants to be, but he’s certainly strong in this aspect.
Everythings rosy under Potter. What can go wrong? I have to say I’m loving the nice sunny smiling pictures of Potter. If I see pictures of him looking miserable or arrogant with his tongue poking out in future then I know things have gone drastically wrong.
All these players putting their lack of desire and effort on previous managers is pathetic ! We still aren’t setting the world on fire either under Potter
Not setting the world on fire Sean?
Give Potter a chance to bed in first…… ☘️⚒️
It’s called a team game and if this keeps up and they feel like a team only good things will happen. Good start from Potter but I expect he knows it’s just a start! He did wait for the West Ham opportunity turning down other offers I understand, which I think means he will be putting heart and soul into what he’s doing and then I hope he gets the rewards.