West Ham have 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 has signed a two-and-a-half year contract, 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 matches.
The 49-year-old will have the chance to end his new club’s two-match losing run when West Ham visit Aston Villa in the 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 the visit of Crystal Palace – currently one position below them – four days later (4pm).
Potter’s first league away game will also be at Villa on January 26 (4.30pm).
West Ham United is delighted to welcome Graham Potter as the Club’s new Head Coach ⚒️
— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 9, 2025
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Potter excited at opportunity
Potter told the club’s official website: “I am 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 am 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 have 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.”
Graham Potter record
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 of Potter’s fourth season in charge, and Chelsea never eclipsed that position during his brief tenure, sitting 11th at the time of his departure.
Chelsea’s finest achievement under Potter was a run of four consecutive wins in the Champions League group stage and overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the round of 16, although they were knocked out by Real Madrid following his sacking.
Under Potter, Albion enjoyed their highest ever final position of ninth with the help of five wins and one defeat in the closing nine matches of 2021/22, overcoming a slump of six consecutive defeats and only one goal between February and March.
Brighton finished 15th in Potter’s first campaign in 2019/20 and 16th at the end of the subsequent season, navigating going more than a year without a home league win between 2020 and 2021.
Lopetegui sacked
Lopetegui, whose career includes managerial 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 contributed to the 58-year-old swiftly facing pressure.
He oversaw a net spend of £85.2 million during the summer but lost nine and won six of his 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 at the helm lasting four-and-a-half years.
