By Daily Sports Nigeria on January 9, 2025

English Premier League club, West Ham, has confirmed the appointment of former Chelsea boss, Graham Potter, as its new head coach.

The 49-year-old joins the Hammers on a two-and-a-half-year contract.

Potter isn’t a stranger to English football after his stints at Swansea City and Brighton & Hove Albion. He left Chelsea in 2023.

“West Ham United is delighted to welcome Graham Potter as the club’s new head coach. The 49-year-old joins the Hammers on a two-and-a-half-year contract and will take charge of his new team for the first time when the Irons travel to Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round on Friday evening.

“A highly-respected and sought-after coach, Potter has been awaiting the right opportunity after leaving his last role at Chelsea in April 2023 and was the Board’s unanimous choice to take the club forward in line with its objectives and ambitions.

“Potter, whose progressive style and flexible tactical approach previously impressed at Swedish club Östersund, Swansea City and Brighton & Hove Albion, has a passion for a return to Premier League management and is relishing the opportunity to work with West Ham United’s talented squad of international players,” the club statement read on Thursday.

In his remark, Potter expressed his excitement at his return to the English domestic flight, noting that the move came at the right time for him.

He vowed to build on the club’s bedrock to develop a team that club supporters would be proud of.

The new head coach said, “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 the right fit for the club I’m joining. That is the feeling I have with 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 solid foundations 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 to move the club forward in the medium to long term.

“West Ham United is a huge club, at the heart of London, with a tremendous fanbase and great support all around the world. I saw the scenes that followed their Europa Conference League victory in 2023 and it was clear that this is a club with everything in place to become consistently successful, both on and off the pitch.

“The club has made a lot of good progress in recent years and ensured there are some very strong foundations in place to build on. You don’t win a European trophy by fluke – there has to be a good bedrock at a football club for that to happen, and the challenge now is to take that on and build the next steps, to develop a team and a club that the supporters can be proud of.”

Potter will be joined at the Hammers by his Assistant Coach, Bruno; First-team coaches — Billy Reid and Narcís Pèlach, among others.

Potter has long been considered one of the brightest coaching minds in the English game, having studied for a Master’s degree following a 14-year playing career with the likes of Birmingham City, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City.

The Solihull-born Potter began his coaching career with university students before taking his first managerial role at Östersund in 2010. He led the Swedish club on an incredible run of three promotions in five seasons to the top flight, won the Swedish Cup and reached the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League, defeating Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

Potter’s exploits in Scandinavia prompted Swansea to appoint him in summer 2018. After an eye-catching year in South Wales, he took charge at Brighton a year later and led the Seagulls to a then-record-high Premier League finish of ninth in 2020/21.

Having impressed with both his results and style on the south coast, Potter moved to Chelsea in September 2022, before departing Stamford Bridge in April 2023. Now, after 18 months during which he has continued studying the game and working in the media, he is ready to return to the technical area with West Ham.

On Wednesday, the club sacked former manager, Julen Lopetegui, after just 22 games in charge. A 4-1 hammering at champions Manchester City on Saturday was the final straw for club chiefs.

The Hammers currently sit in the 14th in the EPL table, seven points above the relegation zone, after just six wins in 20 league matches during the Spaniard’s tenure.

Source Punch Ng

Posted January 9, 2025

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