For Premier League head coaches, the pressure very rarely lifts.
With positive results and impressive performances demanded every single time their teams step onto the pitch to play for points, managing in England’s top-flight is surely one of the most mentally demanding roles in sport.
In pre-season, however, the scrutiny is less intense, with many supporters simply excited to see their heroes in action again after the summer break, and opportunities for fans who would otherwise be unable to see their teams play to catch a glimpse of their idols.
For head coaches, it is a chance to try new things, give young or fringe players game-time to impress, and to spend time away from the glare and gossip working on building fitness and team spirit, fine-tuning tactics and planning for when that pressure ramps up again in mid-August - and doesn’t relent for the next ten months.
For West Ham United Head Coach Graham Potter, following a welcome week’s holiday at home with his family in Sussex, that moment is now.
Having been appointed in January this year, this is Potter’s first pre-season as Hammers Head Coach, and the first time he has had a significant period of time to with work his whole squad to install the foundations and instil the ways in which he and his staff want to work, and the ways he wants his team to play when the 2025/26 Premier League season kicks-off at Sunderland on Saturday 16 August.
A week in the Black Forest of south-western Germany afforded Potter and his trusted coaches the chance to get to know his players on and off the pitch, to build that fitness with tailor-made training sessions and team spirit with social events that included a quiz, barbecue and karaoke in which players and staff were encouraged to mingle and find out more about one another, growing friendships and trust for the challenges to come.
While the 50-year-old ensured his players worked hard to put base fitness levels in place, he also granted them free time to relax by playing golf, padel and table tennis.
For Potter, who famously employed similar methods with great success at Swedish club Östersund, Swansea City and Brighton & Hove Albion, it is vitally important that players and staff are given the opportunity to display their different personalities, while also instilling a togetherness that will make the group as a whole ever stronger.
That philosophy will be there again as the Hammers board a flight to the United States on Wednesday for the Premier League Summer Series, where Potter’s side will take on Manchester United, Everton and AFC Bournemouth in New Jersey, Chicago and Atlanta.
For the Head Coach, who has visited the US just twice previously and never coached on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the trip is one to relish for his players, his staff and the tens of thousands of Hammers who will get to cheer their team on in-person at MetLife Stadium, Soldier Field and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and to meet them at a host of community and promotional events.
For Potter, with the pressure of being a Premier League head coach having mercifully lifted, albeit just for a few short weeks, it is a time and a trip to enjoy, embrace and make the most of, personally and professionally…
First off, Gaffer, how was your summer?
“It was nice, thank you. Nice time with the family. We only had a week, when the kids were on half-term, so that was nice, so we got that week in, but nevertheless, it's nice just to be away, and just to reflect, take a pause, think about the things that you've done, and then start to plan and think about how you want to go forward, so a really important time, and a nice time.”
It was back to work at Rush Green nearly two weeks ago now, and off to Germany last week, and the general consensus is that it was a very good week, so how do you reflect on pre-season so far?
“We've had a really positive two weeks since we've been back. From day one when we had a really good meeting with the staff, and then the boys have come back in a good way and we’ve enjoyed working with them at Rush Green. It was important to have that week there, and then off to Germany, which gives you a chance just to be a little bit closer, just to build relationships more, carry on the concepts and the work that you're doing at Rush Green, but you're together all the time, so it's a nice time to develop those bonds and partnerships and relationships that are really important on a football pitch, so it was a really positive week.”
It's the one part of the year where the pressure isn't on as much as it is the rest of the year, but it's also a vital time, so what are your thought of what a pre-season is?
“Well, it sounds obvious, but it's preparation for the season ahead. It's preparation physically, because you need to get the players ready to play Premier League football after a break. You need to get the players prepared to play the games from a tactical perspective, so understanding what we're trying to do, and then also I think really important is a foundation as an environment, as a culture, about how we want to be throughout the season, because you haven't got the pressure of a Premier League game, which makes it more difficult to do those sorts of things. I think, after a period of reflection, which is a time away, and then coming back together, working in a less pressured environment, it gives you the chance to really find out ‘how do we want to act here’, ‘how do we want to be’, ‘what's our environment going to look like’, ‘what's it going to be when the pressure is on and when things go well, and when things don't go well’, ‘how do we want to act?’. So a combination of all those things, I think it is a really important phase of the season.”
It was a very holistic trip, in terms of you included everybody, obviously not in the training sessions, but certainly at the hotel there were events where all the staff got together with the players, and that puts the bricks in place and means everyone has got everybody else’s back when the pressure is on?
“Yeah, and I think you want to try and build trust amongst everybody here. We're a football club at the end of the day, and I've mentioned it before, the closer we can be to a family the better, looking after each other, and then it's about understanding each other's role, understanding how we want to go forward, understanding how everybody contributes, I think that's really important for us. Like you say, the season's long, and there'll be ups and downs, and there'll be periods where it's going really well, and there'll be periods where maybe it isn't going so well, and we have to come together and deal with those situations, not get too high, not get too low, and just keep going towards what we want to achieve, and that's really important.
“We make sure everyone's involved in that process, and like I said, Germany was brilliant, the staff were fantastic, working really hard together, everybody wants to pull, you can imagine, everybody wants to achieve something, and now it's just the work to continue and to continue, and we're looking forward to the States.”
Ultimately, we all want the same thing, don’t we?
“Of course, yeah, and everybody contributes in a different way, but it's really important, and as I said before, if you can get a trusting environment where there's respect, responsibility, accountability and trust, and people understand each other, and they're less triggered by each other - the challenges are enough with the Premier League with our opponents and with all the things that are going on externally - I think the stronger we can be here together, and it gives us a better chance to succeed.”
And now we go to the States. It’s obviously a different challenge in a different working environment, so what are you looking for from the trip?
“Well, as I said, it's just a build on what we've done. It’s slightly different in terms of more games, more tactical focus, more playing matches, recovery, travelling, recovering, but at the same time, there'll be time to work, there'll be time to build on the culture, build on the environment, build on how we want to act, to engage with supporters, to engage with the local communities, all those things which I think are still important for us to do throughout the season, because it's part of who we are and what we stand for, so those things are going to be good and we're really excited for the trip.
“It's always exciting to be part of West Ham because of the fan base, because of the reach the Club has. Yes, we're really focused on our local community and that's the foundation of what we do but, at the same time, appreciating and valuing the global brand that we have.
“It seems that wherever you go in the world, there are West Ham fans. Whenever you're on holiday, you bump into West Ham fans, there's always somebody in the street giving the ‘Irons’ and stuff, so we can be proud of that, for sure.”
This will be the first time you have coached in the United States, and you’ll do so at three iconic NFL stadia, so are you excited personally?
“Yeah, I am. I've only been to the States twice, actually, and I went a couple of summers ago and got into some American sports, so it's fantastic. They do it really well, so I'm sure we'll be working and we'll be having to push everything forward. At the same time, I think we can learn as well when we're over there, and we'll look forward to taking in the experience and experiencing the iconic stadiums, and how the clubs and the institutions and organisations work. Wherever you look, it's a really positive trip.”
It's a business trip, but if you do get some free time, what one thing do you want to do in New Jersey, New York, Chicago or Atlanta?
“Last time I was in the States, I went to New York, so I've done most of the touristy stuff there. I've not been to Chicago, so I'm really looking forward to that. Wherever I am, if we get some time, I'll try and do something absolutely that I've not done before. I'm really looking forward to the whole thing!”
Finally, we’re facing three Premier League teams at the Summer Series, so how do those games help you, your staff and your squad prepare for the upcoming season?
“I think the way the game's going now, you're facing Premier League teams in pre-season. In some ways it's good because you're guaranteed a certain level of opposition. We know they'll be great tests. They'll be similar to us in terms of where they're at in their development pre-season and tactically slightly different and I think you want that so I’m really happy with the games.
“I’m really excited to go there, really excited to get training, and really excited to immerse ourselves in the US and meet our fans over there.”
