Julen Lopetegui
(Credit: Imago)
Carla Devine
Mon 17 March 2025 21:10, UK
Graham Potter’s start to life at West Ham may not have gone as smoothly as hoped so far, but his impact cannot be underestimated.
West Ham’s results under Potter’s management have been inconsistent and with two wins in his last five games, that shows no signs of changing yet.
Nevertheless, the boss is under no pressure with supporters pleased about what has changed since he took over from Julen Lopetegui at the start of the year.
Graham Potter
West Ham boss Graham Potter (Credit: Imago)
Lopetegui reveal made by Jethro Medine
Lopetegui did not have the best tenure in East London and his sacking felt inevitable when it finally happened.
There were clear issues behind the scenes with Tim Steidten having since been spoken about by Lopetegui, with the Irons open about their discussions with Potter while the former boss was still taking training.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
It was also reported that Lopetegui had fallen out with players he was managing and with that in mind, it’s no surprise that Potter’s welcome has been received positively.
Manager Win rate
Julen Lopetegui 31.82%
Graham Potter 30%
Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter this season.
However, one area of the club that may certainly be relieved is the youth set-up after Jethro Medine made a glaring recent admission.
Speaking on the Let’s Talk Football podcast (16 March), the youth defender said: “There was one session when Lopetegui was still at the club, they’ve already started. He threw me a bib and said go play, you’re playing striker.
“Wan-Bissaka comes up to me and says, where do you play? and I said I’m a right-back, I don’t want to play striker.
“He said, go on you can play right-back, I will go there. He’s a good role model.“
Medine seeking West Ham chance under Potter
He may be just 18 years old, but Medine has shown positive signs in the West Ham youth set-up so far and having trained with the first team, he will be hoping to follow in Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s footsteps at The London Stadium.
The young right-back signed his first professional contract with the Hammers this term and has made 17 appearances for the under-18s as he looks to build his experience.
Potter has shown his willingness to use the younger players in his squad and with the emergence of Ollie Scarles as a first-team player, the future looks exciting.
For a player like Medine though, having had the experience he did with Lopetegui, he will surely be looking forward to the opportunity to work with someone who will nurture his talents rather than use him to fit into the side.
Listening to Medine, it is clear where it all went wrong for Lopetegui and Potter is ready to change that.
Related Posts