West Ham appointed former Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion and Swansea City boss Graham Potter as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement after the Spaniard’s six-month reign ended on Wednesday.
England Potter, who has 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 in 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 FA Cup third round on Friday (8pm GMT).
The Hammers return to Premier League action at home to ninth-placed Fulham on January 14 (7.30pm) before visiting Crystal Palace – currently a place below them – four days later (4pm ).
Potter’s first away league game will also be at Villa on January 26 (4.30pm).
West Ham are delighted to welcome Graham Potter as the club’s new manager ⚒️
— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 9, 2025
Potter was excited about the opportunity
Potter told the club’s official website: “I’m delighted to be here. It was important to me that I waited until a job came along that I felt was right for me, and equally that I was right for the club I was joining. That’s how I feel about West Ham United.
“My conversations with the chairman and the board have been very positive and constructive, we share the same values of hard work and high energy to create the strong foundations that can produce success, and we are on the same page in terms of what is needed in the short term and then how we want to 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 following their Europa Conference League win in 2023 and it was clear that this is a club with everything to be consistently successful, both on and off the pitch.
“The club has made very good progress in recent years and has ensured that there are some very strong foundations to build on. You don’t win a European trophy by accident – there has to be a good foundation in a football club for that to happen, and the challenge now is to do that and build the next steps, develop a team and a club that the supporters can be proud”.
Record Graham Potter
Potter joined Chelsea in September 2022 from Brighton, where he built a reputation for a progressive style of football and an 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 closed that position during his short tenure, sitting 11th at the time of his departure.
Chelsea’s best achievement under Potter was a run of four consecutive Champions League group stage wins and overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit. beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the round of 16although they were knocked out by Real Madrid after his dismissal.
Under Potter, Albion enjoyed their highest ever finish of ninth with the help of five wins and one defeat in their last nine games of 2021/22, overcoming a slump of six successive 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 home league win between 2020 and 2021.
Lopetegui was fired
Lopetegui, whose career includes coaching roles with Spain, Real Madrid, Porto, Wolves and Sevilla, was named as David Moyes’ replacement in May but defeats in his first three home games have seen him quickly face the pressure the 58-year-old.
He had a net spending of £85.2m in the summer but has lost nine and won six of 20 league games, with West Ham 14th after their 4-1 defeat at Manchester City on Saturday, seven points above the relegation zone .
Moyes won West Ham’s first European trophy since 1965 by lifting the 2022/23 Conference League as part of a second spell in charge that spanned four-and-a-half years.
