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West Ham issue statement amid Graham Potter sack pressure as shortlist outlined

Graham Potter remains under huge pressure at West Ham United, with former boss Slaven Bilic in the running to make a sensational return to London Stadium.

The former Chelsea boss took on the role at the Hammers in January, but has so far struggled to get the best out of his squad. West Ham have won just one of their opening five games in all competition's this campaign, with Sunderland, Chelsea and Tottenham all beating the Hammers comfortably.

According to talkSPORT, former manager and player Bilic is on a three-man shortlist to potentially replace Potter at the London Stadium. Bilic spent over a year at West Ham as a player before he was hired as boss in 2015, guiding the side to seventh in his first season, before he was ultimately dismissed in November 2017.

Along with Bilic; Nuno Espirito Santo and Sean Dyche are said to be under consideration, should West Ham’s dismal start continue. Nuno has been without a club for just a few days after his shocking departure from Nottingham Forest. The former Wolves manager was dismissed by Forest, despite steering them into Europe, following a bust-up with owner Evangelos Marinakis, reports the Mirror.

Dyche, meanwhile, has been absent from the dugout since departing Everton, remarkably on the very same day Potter pitched up at West Ham. Potter's appointment was viewed as quite a catch at the beginning of the year, with the 50-year-old taking his time to choose his next role after parting ways with Chelsea.

He stepped in after a disastrous stint for Julen Lopetegui, but has struggled to truly turn things around. And after a £125million summer spending spree, a more promising start was anticipated.

West Ham's hierarchy made their feelings clear in a strongly worded statement on Wednesday evening. It said: "First, we accept that results and performances on the pitch over the past two seasons have not met the standards we set for ourselves

"Nobody at the Club is satisfied with that and the Board of Directors have spent a great deal of time looking at the decisions that have been made across the football operation, in order to inform an improved strategy going forward.

"Our focus now is firmly on the future and building a team that can once again compete consistently in domestic competitions and in Europe. We have a strong platform from which to continue that quest, in that we are entering our 14th consecutive season in the Premier League – our longest unbroken top-flight run in the modern era."

West Ham face Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, looking to record their first home victory of the season, before a trip to Everton the following week.

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