Graham Potter is confident his West Ham United players are ready to put all their hard work behind the scenes into fruition and earn a positive result away at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Following an encouraging pre-season campaign, that yielded four wins from five fixtures, the Hammers have endured a tough start to the competitive 2025/26 campaign, including a dramatic defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening.
Though they will have had less than a week to prepare for their return to the league scene, Potter is buoyant about the reaction he’s seen by the squad in training, and he remains convinced that fine margins are all that stand in the Irons’ way of ultimately moving up the top-flight table.
The arrival of outstanding young midfielder Mateus Fernandes on Friday morning has served a big boost to the team’s ongoing credentials, and the Head Coach is understandably excited to have captured the services of someone who won Southampton’s 2024/25 Fans' Player of the Season award, despite still being just 21 years old.
While Potter continues to monitor potential incomings ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline, he is clear about the talent within his side as is stands, and he was indeed asked about a selection of individuals, as well as numerous other topics, during his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
Hard work between games
It sounds simple, but we’ve just been focusing on working hard at the training ground, and speaking to and supporting the players.
It’s been really frustrating for all of us, especially when you see the application and effort of the players. Against Wolves on Tuesday, I thought the commitment was there, but at any level of football, if you concede goals, it can affect everything.
We’re all hurting, because we came out of pre-season in a positive place and results haven’t gone our way since then. We have to accept that, and we’re not shying away from it, because we understand the results-based business we’re in, and that things haven’t been good enough.
We know it’s up to us to change things, and we’ve been working really hard to put things right. The players are responsible enough to understand what they’ve got to do. We’ve done some good work, and we’re looking forward to the weekend.
I do think we’ve done a lot of good work in terms of the culture and the foundation of the group being better. There’s connection and commitment in this team, and I believe we’re not far from a performance and a result that gets us moving in a different direction, that ultimately is the key to building trust and turning things around.
Taking on the Tricky Trees
They’ve done a brilliant job over the last few years. They were almost ridiculed for spending a lot of money when they were promoted a couple of years ago, but I think they’ve proven that they know what they’re doing.
I think what they’ve done has shown the gap between the Championship and the Premier League, in terms of how you have to invest in your team to compete, which they’re doing now. They stabilised, and then they had a brilliant season last year. Now, they’ve got a really powerful, well-organised team, with lots of talented individual players, so we know we’re in for a tough game on Sunday, but we’re looking forward to it.
Respect for his opposite number
Nuno [Espírito Santo] has done a brilliant job there.
I know his career well, having come up against him a few times over the years, and he’s certainly very well respected among other coaches, because of the experience he’s gained and the jobs he’s done at different clubs. He’s definitely done a brilliant job at Forest.
Exciting Fernandes signing
I think he brings quality, character, desire and personality to the squad. He’s someone we’ve known about and watched for a while, and we’re delighted to have him here with us.
I think our fans will really like him. He’s at an exciting stage of his career, he’s already got some Premier League experience, and we’re looking forward to him taking the next step with us.
Last season didn’t go how he or Southampton would’ve planned, but I think every experience you have in life, good or bad, is an opportunity for you to learn and develop, and get stronger. I’m sure he wouldn’t have enjoyed the experience last year, but I think it’s made him more determined, more aware of how difficult this league is, and of how difficult being a top professional player is.
He’s got ambition, he’s got humility and he’s got professionalism, so I think he’ll take every experience he has and use it to improve.
Transfer activity continues
As I’ve always said, we’ll continue to work right up until the end of the window to get the right people in. I think it’s really important to get the right people in, as well as the right players.
You never know what’s going to happen. I think it could be one of those windows where there’s lots of late activity, and we just need to make sure we’re aware and aligned so we can make the right calls, to improve the squad as a whole.
Paquetá performing well
It’s hard to focus on anything from the Chelsea game, because it was painful overall, but Lucas’ goal was a good moment.
We’re really happy with Lucas. He’s been through a lot, and I think he’s continually showing more and more his responsibility and his enjoyment of the game with us. We’re confident he can have a really positive season with us.
Souček continues to shine
He continues to be an important player for us. He has a great scoring record from midfield, and he has the ability to defend and attack across the whole pitch.
As a person, he’s a joy to work with. He’s a fantastic individual, who sacrifices himself for the team, and who can play in a variety of roles. He’s contributed a lot to the Club’s success over recent years.
Mohamadou Kanté catching the eye
He had some time with us during pre-season, and he’s settled in well with the U21s so far this season. He’s got a bit of work to do, but he’s a young player who has lots of potential.
