Niclas Fullkrug rages at his West Ham teammates in a huge rant after his side’s 1-1 draw against Southampton on Saturday afternoon.
Fullkrug, who assisted Jarrod Bowen’s second-half opener, was furious at the team’s failure to maintain their lead, conceding a 93rd-minute equaliser to Lesley Ugochukwu.
He said that the performance was “shit” and criticised a “mindset problem,” noting that after scoring, the team abandoned their possession-based approach, resorted to long balls, and lacked the “ability or motivation” to push forward.
He highlighted a lack of togetherness, with half the team trying to attack and the other half defending too deep, deviating from head coach Graham Potter’s game plan.
Fullkrug’s candid outburst, aired on Sky Sports, included remarks like, “It’s not the first time we score a goal and then just shoot the ball long. We don’t try to play football anymore. We just sink.”
Potter echoed Fullkrug’s frustration, admitting the team’s performance was subpar and lacked control.
The draw left West Ham 16th in the Premier League, winless in six games under Potter, who has struggled since taking over in January.
FULL INTERVIEW https://t.co/e7HOmAFcsQ pic.twitter.com/gHBiir9Uuv
— Central (@WestHam_Central) April 19, 2025
He said: “It is a mindset problem. Very angry today.
“Not disappointed, just angry with what we did after the goal.
“It was difficult to bring the boys back to push up, we didn’t push up anymore.
“We tried, but we didn’t have the ability or the motivation to push up again. I am very, very angry that we played like this.
“We had some minutes where we showed what we can do against an opponent like that at home.
“We showed the possession we can have, that we can go in behind and have the chances to score again.
“But the motivation, sorry we were s*** and I’m very angry.
“It is not the first time where we score a goal and then the next goal kick we just shoot the ball long.
“We don’t try to play football anymore.
“We don’t push up anymore, we just sink and that’s not the way we want to play.
“Why we play 65 minutes before with possession, even if it’s not perfect.
“We try to play with possession, try to create chances, we try to score and then we score and after that half of the team try to score again and the other half just try to defend very deep.
“That is not the way it works.
“We have to find a way to have togetherness, to have the idea, where we want to go and what we want to do.
“The coach was very clear with what he wants, we have to do it all and everyone has to do it.”
“We’re all feeling down and frustrated” 😔
West Ham boss Graham Potter says he “understands” Niclas Fullkrug’s criticism of the team after they squandered a lead to draw against Southampton. pic.twitter.com/HSFigdA4ZL
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 20, 2025
West Ham boss Graham Potter speaking at his post-match press conference on whether he understood the fans’ boos:
“For sure, absolutely. We weren’t happy at all with the first half and then you can completely understand the reaction of the second half and at the end because it’s really disappointing to concede late again and the manner we did because we’re too deep and we’re hanging on and it’s not a performance they want to see, so I completely understand.
“We have to accept that this isn’t good enough, this performance today and what we’re giving here isn’t good enough.
“It’s an indication of the supporters at the end, and they’re absolutely right to do that completely, so we have to accept that.
“I think that we can do some really, really good things here, really special, but at the moment we’re some way from that.”
On the draw: “We’re really disappointed with the performance and the result. I can’t say we deserved much more, which is a reflection on how disappointed we are.
“Credit to Southampton, but we didn’t do enough to win, and in the end we have to look at the reasons why. We have to be honest enough to say that and then look to improve, for sure.
“I don’t think we attacked well enough throughout the game, lots of giveaways, lots of cheap losses of possession. If you have to be the protagonist of the game, which I think West Ham at home to Southampton, we have to be that.
“We have to find a way to be the main player in the game, to control the game with attacking football – we’re some way off being able to do that.
“We looked better today when we were on the transition, and the goal comes from defending our box, and then we’ve got big spaces, and we attack.
“But when we have the ball, because opponents come back and they make it difficult in terms of getting bodies behind the ball, which is their right of course, we didn’t do enough to open up, we didn’t do enough to create, we didn’t do enough to score, to create pressure. So that’s what we have to do better.”
Interim Southampton boss Simon Rusk in hid post-match press conference on moving closer to beating the lowest points record:
“I fully understand why people are going to focus on that and make that a really focal point. I think for me, it’s not useful to obsess about that.
“As head coach of this group of players and using my intuition and experience on how to get the best out of groups and individuals, I think that can be something that hangs quite heavy.
“So for me, it’s about installing belief in the players and confidence and saying if we get all these bits right, we think we can surpass that.
“But I think I’m not going to obsess about it because that wouldn’t be the diligent thing for me to do, the intelligent thing. So pleased that we’ve got a point and we took a step closer to it.
“Of course I’m not stupid. I’ve not totally got my head in the sand around that. But equally, today is about enjoying the performance, enjoying the commitment from the players, enjoying the moment that they got to have with the fans at the end of the game and trusting that we get them things right again, we’ll be in games.”
On the draw: “My feeling without watching the game back was that it was the least we deserved. I was disappointed not getting into half-time ahead. I thought the players showed mental stamina in the second half, didn’t allow it in any way, shape or form to feel sorry for ourselves. And we fully deserved our equaliser at the end.”
Twitter users reacted as Niclas Fullkrug rages at his West Ham teammates in a rant after the draw against Southampton…
@AlexMoirr: We’ve got a captain that’s been chosen because he’s the top goalscorer. Not because he can lead a team but because fans love him for his goals. Poor decision and we need to have more player with this mentality of fullkrug!!
@tonywest69: Finally someone speaking out making players accountable , someone who wants the best for the club
@GeeringRoss: Finally someone showing some form of passion. All season long players haven’t been bothered or throwing people under the bus because of tactics and managers. Players need a big reality check and we need a squad reset otherwise it’s only going one way #WHUFC
@alexjg0: Think there are alot of egos in that dressing room, sooner summer comes and we part ways with alot of them, the better.
@lrreilly98: Absolutely delighted. Well done Fullkrug has a set of bollocks on him to call it how it is. Must keep this summer ⚒
@Spongey2210: When asked if the manager was angry, he laughed (almost ironically) and said “you have to ask him”. I wonder if that’s telling.
@hammersmassive: He won’t last long with ambition like that
@Neilsen10504124: Top lad and the end told us what we all have been thinking all season that some of these buggers ain’t bothered and he backed the manager which I like. This mess is down to the 11 of the field, need to get the dead wood out
@selldit: Everyone is gushing over this but doesn’t a real leader say it to people’s faces behind closed doors? Seems self serving to do this for the media. Some of you have not captained a competitive side in any sport and it shows.
@KrisProwse182: Spot on with everything he said.
@MattBlissett93: Fuck me! A player actually taking responsibility and calling things out. That’s what I like to see
HAVE YOUR SAY –
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