West Ham head coach Graham Potter looks deep in thought during EFL Cup defeat at Wolves.placeholder image
West Ham head coach Graham Potter looks deep in thought during EFL Cup defeat at Wolves. | Getty Images
West Ham United have had a tough start to the new Premier League season
West Ham United head coach Graham Potter is no doubt one of the most under-pressure managers in the Premier League at this moment in time.
After his Hammers side came under fire for low-energy performances and “scandalous” defending in their opening two league fixtures of the season, convincing defeats at the hands of Sunderland and Chelsea, a 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest may have gone a way to ease the early pressure.
But the truth is that a late Forest capitulation - with three goals in the last ten minutes - does not paper over the cracks which no doubt exist at London Stadium.
There is work to be done for Potter over the coming weeks and he will be beginning to look over his shoulder already, as odds slash on the 50-year-old becoming the first top-flight manager to be sacked this season. Reports suggest that the Hammers have already begun to consider potential replacements.
West Ham considering Frank Lampard as Potter replacement
According to reports by Football Insider, West Ham had already begun to make moves over a possible swoop for Frank Lampard ahead of last weekend’s victory at the City Ground.
The report states that the Hammers ‘put out feelers’ to the Coventry City boss and ‘sounded out’ the prospect of a move in the case where they do decide to part ways with Potter.
Though victory at Forest will have slowed down any process of a change in management, the report continues that it has not solved an off-field ‘civil war’ between the ownership and supporters.
The pressure remains firmly on Potter, who has won just six matches out of 23 - a win percentage of 26.09%, the worst in his managerial career - while in charge of the Hammers, who sleepwalked into hovering right above the relegation places last season before a couple of late wins saw them finish in 14th.
Would Lampard be the right man for West Ham?
Lampard has undoubtedly rebuilt his managerial reputation at Coventry, where he arrived in November 2024 and took the Sky Blues from just two points above the relegation zone to a fifth-place finish and an unfortunate play-off semi-final defeat in stoppage time against eventual winners Sunderland.
Coventry have begun the new season in similar fashion, sitting fifth in the Championship as the division’s highest scorers following a stunning 7-1 victory over QPR at CBS Arena.
Lampard’s desire to return to the Premier League is said to be strong, as he may feel he has unfinished business in the division after previous spells with Chelsea and Everton. A return to West Ham, where he came through the youth ranks and began his illustrious professional career, would be an emotional homecoming if it went well. If it proved challenging for Lampard at London Stadium, it is conceivable that the pressure may begin to quickly ramp up, as it has on Potter.
For the meantime, Lampard will continue to focus on Coventry, who will feel they are in with a shout of promotion this season. But there is every chance that rumours linking the 47-year-old with the Hammers job may ramp up in the coming weeks and months.
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