West Ham star was ‘brilliant’ vs Nottingham Forest, he could hold key to Graham Potter’s future
West Ham’s winless start to the Premier League campaign was curtailed with a huge 3-0 win away to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
After such a poor start to the campaign, the pressure on Graham Potter at West Ham is certainly warranted, and it is not going away anytime soon, despite the latest win.
With that said, West Ham secured three points away to Nottingham Forest to lift themselves off the bottom of the Premier League.
It wasn’t the best display from the Irons until the latter stages, though the performance of one man in particular caught the eye of Matthew Upson, and if Potter is to remain at the London Stadium, he can hold the key.
Lucas Paqueta earns plaudits for West Ham display vs Forest
This summer has been filled with questions over the future of Potter, but also over Lucas Paqueta’s future at West Ham.
Aston Villa were heavily linked with a move, though Paqueta’s celebration after doubling West Ham’s lead spoke volumes about where his future lies.
- Paqueta completed the most dribbles in the game
- Two chances created
- One goal scored
- 67% shot accuracy
However, it was a moment of quality from Paqueta earlier that caught the eye of Upson at the City Ground, which nearly resulted in Callum Wilson’s first goal for the Hammers, something he did bag later.
Speaking live on Sky Sports Premier League, he said: “What a pass this is from Paqueta, look at this one-touch pass, brilliant.
“Into the front, Wilson does well, gets his shot off, and that is a wicked deflection.”
Graham Potter lives to fight another day at West Ham
Potter is fortunate not to have been sacked at West Ham yet, but this win will certainly buy him some more time at the London Stadium.
Given how early it is in the season, many would have seen it as a hard decision to sack him, though it wouldn’t have been a knee-jerk reaction.
West Ham were dreadful under his guidance (or lack of) last season, and showed very little sign of improvement in the opening two games.
As for now, Potter will have two weeks to work with the majority of his squad and ensure that they can go on a somewhat of a winning run upon returning from the international break.
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