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West Ham have replacement lined up after sacking Graham Potter with timing shocking players

West Ham reportedly have a replacement lined up after sacking Graham Potter with timing of the announcement shocking players.

Nuno Espirito Santo is set to become new West Ham head coach, currently in advanced talks with the former Nottingham Forest boss expected to be in place ahead of Monday’s game against Everton.

That is according to BBC Sport Senior football correspondent Sami Mokbel who adds that discussions have accelerated over the previous 72 hours and Nuno has agreed to become West Ham’s new boss and is to take his first training session on Saturday. Slaven Bilic also held conversations with the club’s board.

@Matt_Law_DT tweets: “No real surprise at the decision but the timing is pretty uncomfortable. Why let him go the whole week and then do the press conference and answer Qs on face swaps etc? Even once Nuno agreed surely just wait until after Everton at this stage.”

CLUB STATEMENT:

West Ham United can confirm that Head Coach Graham Potter has left the Club.

Results and performances over the course of the second half of last season and the start of the 2025/26 season have not matched expectations, and the Board of Directors believe that a change is necessary in order to help improve the team’s position in the Premier League as soon as possible.

The Club can confirm that Assistant Coach Bruno Saltor, First Team Coaches Billy Reid and Narcis Pelach, Lead Goalkeeper Coach Casper Ankergren, and Goalkeeper Coach Linus Kandolin have also left with immediate effect.

The Board would like to thank Graham and his coaching staff for their hard work during their time with the Hammers and wish them every success for the future.

The process of appointing a replacement is underway. The Club will be making no further comment at this time.

West Ham have their replacement lined up after sacking Graham Potter with the timing shocking players, here’s how fans reacted…

@Andysilve1: He had to go but again classlessly handled by the cunts that run the side, let him do the pre match interview, back him to their client media then fuck him off …Scum that need outing for this club to move on

@Damo_84: Rinse and repeat – doesn’t matter who you bring in, can be Pep for all I care, we all know the problem at this club #NoMoreBS #GSBOUT #whufc

@georgejones_01: So we’ve had the whole week to sack him and could have given the new manager a week to train with the team but instead the board decide to do it 2 days before our next game, classic.

@GeorgeAGreen: What a slimy, tacky, grubby little man Sullivan is. Making it obvious for days that they are looking for a replacement, letting him take training all week and then do the press conference. The sooner him and Brady are gone the better.

@ZaynafamilyMary: Classless as ever with timing after making him do the press conference yesterday. Why should we expect anything else. We saw how you treated Julen at the time he was grieving the death of his father. You can’t hide behind your appointments. All the best to Potter for the future.

@UncleMat96: West Ham is a serious mess from the team to the board I don’t think that’s the right choice for Nuno tbh

@Logannffc01: Nuno will get no well wishes from me. Put himself before the club. Threw his boss under the bus in the media, Created uncertainty & refused to play certain players. Completely tossed that West Ham game off & ultimately pushed for a pay off. Fuck him. #NFFC

@jjfb99: great timing that lads, just give him a whole week training, have him take the press conference. poor bloke. this board are an absolute joke

@TALLYYYYYYYY_: No way they just kept him so he could talk about the face swapping then sacked him 😭

@GingerJamesOH: You knew you were going to sack him and you had all week. You made him do a press conference expecting him to manage the team Monday and then sacked him less than 24 hours later… Right decision but just again the incompetence of Sullivan and Brady never ceases to amaze #WHUFC

In his press conference on Thursday, less than 24 hours before being sacked, Potter said he was focusing on controllable factors to improve team performance and win matches, starting with the upcoming game against Everton.

He acknowledged fair criticism of recent results but dismissed engaging with external negativity, highlighting the challenges of managing in the Premier League.

Potter noted the context of his tenure, including squad status, injuries, and luck, which have impacted results.

Despite the pressure and speculation surrounding his role, he remains committed to the challenge, drawing on his 20 years of coaching experience.

He stressed the importance of resilience, context, and gradual improvement in the face of a demanding league and high expectations.

“I think you have to accept at the highest level that the margins are small and you can’t wait for those to come round for you and turn your way. You have to keep working.

“You have to accept the reality of the situation, and then you have to keep moving forward and try to change it. So that’s the job, that’s the life. We’re looking forward to changing that dynamic.

“I think every Premier League job is a hard job, that’s stating the facts. It’s normal because it’s the highest league. If you think about how many coaches there are around the world and if you find yourself one of the 20 coaches in the Premier League, by definition, it’s hard.

“Every team is good. Every coach is good. There are resources everywhere, so every job is hard.

“In terms of this job, whether it’s any harder than I expected, you don’t know how things are before you go in and then you have to look, and then, once you’re in, you have to make your assessment. But from the outside, I thought this was going to be a challenge, and that’s why I took the job.

“It’s an incredible challenge, it’s an exciting challenge. When you use words like ‘hard’ or ‘challenge’, automatically people think that’s negative. It’s not.

“I think if you want to do something important and special, you have to accept that there are moments when it’s really difficult. Otherwise, what’s the point? Anything that’s worth having or doing in life, you have to accept that there’s going to be struggle, and you have to be ready to deal with that.

Graham Potter gives amusing response after being asked about the face swap trend

“I’ve been coaching for 15 years, 20 years, and every single job in football is tough because the margins are small.

“The nature of the game is so challenging. The best team sometimes doesn’t win. It can be unfair, all that stuff.

“Always you have to assess at every point along the way, where is the club at? Where are we at? Now, if your assessment is ‘everything’s great, the culture’s great, the environment’s great, the team has had lots of investment, it’s all positive, you’ve got a young, dynamic group of players with hunger’, then OK, that’s one start point.

“If the start point is slightly different, then clearly the challenge is different. It’s always the way.

“The noise doesn’t affect me. I don’t listen to that.

“It’s your job [in the media] and other people’s job to create speculation. It’s part of the noise of the Premier League. It’s part of what you sign up for [as a Head Coach].

“So if results aren’t good, which they haven’t been and no-one’s shying away from that, and the results aren’t what we want, then there’s always speculation, there’s always noise, and there’s always negativity. There’s nothing to complain about from that, from my perspective.

“We have had conversations between the Board and myself, like we do every week – positive talks.

“But we all understand as well where we’re at, and we all want to improve. As I said before, no-one’s happy with where we’re at.

“At the same time, you have to look at the context and the situation, and you have to not get caught up in the noise.

“It sounds obvious. I’d like it (results) to change now, tomorrow, or the next game, of course. We all want that. But we play sport, it’s football, in the highest league, so nothing is straightforward.

“We just focus on what we can control and not worry too much about time frames and things I can’t do anything about.

“I’ve had 50 years of life and 20 years of doing the job [of a head coach] and, in summary, that is what I draw upon.

“You have to understand, we’re in an emotional world. People want things quick, and I completely understand that, and when results aren’t going well, there’s a lot of emotion, and there’s a lot of pain. People are hurting, and often they want somebody to blame.

“It’s not easy to analyse why results at a football club aren’t what you want. It’s not easy to make that assessment, and so therefore, like I said, it’s clear, especially if you think the results should be better, then the natural conclusion is the coach is the problem.

“And if that’s the case, I’ve always said then everybody knows the consequences of that. If you look at it slightly differently and if you make a different assessment of the situation, then you can come to a different conclusion. But again, that’s not for me to tell anybody how to think. That’s up to them.

“We’re all the same [as Premier League head coaches and managers]. If you don’t win enough, then you’re under pressure, you’re under scrutiny, and you’re all that sort of stuff.

“And as I said, if the problem is the head coach and that’s the narrative or that’s the thinking, that’s the conclusion. And if results aren’t good enough, because, as I said, they’re not, they haven’t been, then yeah, the consequences are the consequences. But again, there’s another way to look at it. Whether we do in this world is another thing.

“Everton have been good, as you’d expect from a David Moyes team – very well organised. They’ve made some good additions in the summer, and they’ve got the new stadium, which has obviously given everybody a lift.

“We’re looking forward to going and playing there. But they’ll be strong, it’ll be a tough game.

“I think in most Premier League games, in every Premier League game actually, there’s always more than one [opposition player to look to stop]. We’re aware of Jack Grealish’s quality, of course, but I think they’ve done well.

“Beto’s a threat for them up front, and Iliman Ndiaye coming off the side with Jake O’Brien pushing on is a threat for them. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall finds good spaces. So they’ve got lots of options in the attack, and as I said, it’ll be a tough game.

“I’d love us to replicate our performance and result at Nottingham Forest, but no two games are the same.

“Obviously, if you said to me we could keep a clean sheet and score three goals [at Everton], I’ll take that now, obviously.

“We did a lot well [at Forest]. I think against Sunderland, ironically, we did a lot well up until we conceded the goal, and then we didn’t do so well. So there are always bits in games that you can take, but obviously, from our perspective, we need to be good.

“We need to be better than we were in the first half against Crystal Palace in terms of our balance between defence and attack. I thought we got that wrong. So that’s something we need to improve.

“As head coaches or managers, this is something we all sign up for.

“We understand if results aren’t good and you’re not winning enough, then you have to face that, and you have to own up to that, and you have to take that responsibility. As I said, there’s also part of the job where you have to look at context, you have to look at where the club was, where the club has been, where the club’s at and realistically what is needed to improve.

“We live in a world where we want things instantly, but whenever you do something meaningful and important, sometimes it takes some time.

“But at the same time, in the world we are in, if short-term results aren’t good enough, you understand what happens. But that’s nothing I can control. And not just as a manager as well but perhaps as a human being.

“Pressure is part of the job, it’s something you sign up for, and at some level you’ve got to be grateful for it because it allows you to grow, it takes you to the brink, and it takes you to the edge of your capability, and that makes you a better person.

“Football’s easier when you’re winning every week. It’s great coming to these things and talking to press when you’re winning all the time, but the reality of it is it doesn’t always happen like that.

“And then you have to deal with it, and I think the responsibility of the head coach of a club like West Ham is you deal with it as well as you can in your own way, with integrity, with respect, and go forward and try and help the team improve.”

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