Chris Sutton makes ‘poor’ Graham Potter admission in West Ham prediction
Graham Potter has had a slow start to life at West Ham after replacing Julen Lopetegui earlier in the season.
Although he was appointed last summer, it became clear that Lopetegui was not going to succeed at The London Stadium with the Hammers sitting close to the relegation zone.
Potter has been able to pull his side 15 points clear of the drop which is the main thing but performances have not been spectacular.
Potter compared to Lopetegui
Potter has overseen just three wins across his 11 games in charge at West Ham, showing there is plenty of work to be done.
| Game | Result |
| Bournemouth (H) | 2-2 |
| Wolves (A) | 1-0 |
| Everton (A) | 1-1 |
| Newcastle (H) | 0-1 |
| Leicester (H) | 2-0 |
The boss hasn’t had the easiest of circumstances to contend with having limited movement in the winter transfer window as a result of what his predecessor spent.
Furthermore, a number of injuries have left the Hammers thin at times although Niclas Fullkrug’s recent return and goal against Bournemouth showed the impact his omission may have had.
Things don’t get any easier for Potter’s men either who face a trip to Anfield on Sunday to take on the league leaders.
Liverpool do come into this game on the back of a loss but the favour is still in the Reds’ favour by some way.
Chris Sutton has admitted that he expects the Irons to struggle as he argued that Potter has not had the positive impact he should have.
Writing his BBC Sport prediction, he said: “West Ham have been poor recently, and Bournemouth should have beaten them last week.
“The Hammers have not really improved since Graham Potter was appointed in January, but that is not on him.
“His predecessor Julen Lopetegui was not a good fit, and they have not recruited well either. Their season has been as dull as a Manchester derby and it is not going to get any better now. Prediction: 3-1.”
Potter holding on for summer transfer window
Sutton isn’t wrong in his analysis of Potter’s tenure at West Ham so far, it has been incredibly underwhelming and shown little improvement from Lopetegui.
However, the boss didn’t inherit the best circumstances and he needs a proper transfer window to put his stamp on the side and show exactly what he can do.
It has been reported that Potter will be working closely with David Sullivan throughout the summer which could lead the manager to have a positive influence on the chief, who is unpopular in east London.
The loan signing of Evan Ferguson for the second half of the campaign was definitely expected to have more impact than expected and the Irons are reportedly setting their sights much higher ahead of the new campaign with Liam Delap on the radar.
Sullivan has to be prepared to show his appointment proper backing if he wants to see improvement at The London Stadium but it feels unlikely that Potter would have taken the job if he wasn’t relatively happy with the circumstances he would be working in.
The pressure is now on to do the right business and deliver next term though.