Graham Potter is expecting a positive reaction from his players against Chelsea on Friday night, as West Ham United look to get their 2025/26 Premier League season up and running under the London Stadium lights.
The Hammers were undone 3-0 by Sunderland in their first outing of the fresh campaign last weekend, but have been hard at work back at Rush Green ever since and are determined to show their true quality in front of the Claret and Blue faithful.
Indeed, Potter has spoken at length about the squad’s strong development during pre-season, both on and off the pitch, and he is confident they have the tools to bounce back to winning ways against a side hotly-tipped for success this term.
Chelsea, who were managed by our Head Coach between 2022 and 2023, are the reigning FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Conference League champions, and have brought in a raft of players this summer, including Liam Delap, João Pedro and Jamie Gittens.
Certainly, the Blues will provide a tough test when they make the short trip across the capital for what promises to be an enticing encounter, but Potter insists his players are ready to step up and recapture the sort of form that powered them to four wins from their five pre-season clashes.
While reflecting on the visit to Sunderland and the upcoming Chelsea match-up during his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon, the boss also discussed the importance of the supporters, the processes behind the scenes and the ongoing transfer window.
Here are some of the biggest talking points…
Sunderland takeaways
The reality of it is that it was a hugely disappointing result. There’s no getting away from that.
At the same time, you have to analyse the performance and the overall situation, and see how you can improve.
The game wasn't a 3-0 game, in my opinion. I think we did a lot right up until the first goal, in terms of calming down the situation and being in control. They then scored a goal out of pretty much nothing, and then the environment changed which made it really challenging.
We didn’t react as well as we'd have liked. Then the second goal was a second phase from a corner, which we didn’t do well enough with. Then the third came from our corner and a breakaway, which wasn’t good.
The scoreline isn’t nice, and it creates negativity, which we have to accept. But at the same time, it’s the Premier League, and I don’t think people can expect us to just turn up anywhere and get the three points.
You have to do everything well to win, and to earn it, and we didn’t. We have to accept that, deal with it and improve. I believe a lot in the players, the team and the Club, and we were all gutted after the game last week, because there was optimism and positivity there. It’s up to all of us to react now, and perform.
Focus on the Blues
Chelsea are a top team, so to get the result we want will take a huge effort, a fantastic team performance and, as always, a bit of luck.
They’re a very talented side, with a talented coach, who are in a really good moment after winning the Club World Cup, so we know we’re going to have to perform well as a team.
We’re expecting a big challenge, so our balance between defence and attack is going to have to be really good, and we’re going to have to give everything, which we will.
Back on home soil
A home atmosphere can make a big difference, and I have to say that the atmosphere at Sunderland was one of the best I've experienced in the Premier League.
You want the environment to be like that, as a home team, and our responsibility is to connect with our supporters and provide them with the right performances and results.
We have to get better results - we know that - and we need to connect more with our home fans. Hopefully we can do that against Chelsea tomorrow night.
Work doesn’t stop
I've known all along that this job is a work in progress, and that you have to strike a balance between expectation and reality.
You have to keep working and pushing to get to where you want to be, and I do think there is a lot more to come from the team. I’m confident in the team, in the players and in what we have here, and I’m also confident we are going to improve.
Working in the window
It's about finding the right players, who are the right people with the right profiles. That isn’t easy to do, especially with restrictions like PSR, which every club has.
Our job is to try to look for players who can improve us externally and at the same time help the players we have here.
The squad has had investment over a number of years, and we have to get more out of the squad we have. As I said, we'll also look to improve and we'll do that together, as a Club.
