**Graham Potter**is already under the cosh with a 3-0 loss to **Sunderland**last weekend. His plate does not get any lighter with the visit of his old club, Chelsea, on Friday evening. He is calling on the camp to respond with an energetic display, and he hopes that the fans can make a "big difference."
‘I’m confident in the team’
Potter pulled no punches about the disappointment of the defeat that happened on Saturday afternoon.
“The reality of it is that it was a hugely disappointing result. There’s no getting away from that. At the same time, you have to analyse the performance and overall situation, and see how you can improve.”
**Sunderland**are one of three outfits to go up from the Championship, so some would have seen the Hammers as the favourite in this fixture. However, Potter feels that such a belief is highly misplaced.
“The scoreline isn’t nice, and it creates negativity, which we have to accept. But at the same time, it’s the Premier League. I don’t think people can expect us to just turn up and get the three points.”
At the same time, the 50-year-old defended the display. He did not sense that the hosts would win so decisively when the match was goalless at half time. Eliezer Mayenda broke the deadlock at the hour mark, then two more strikes arrived from Daniel Ballard and their substitute striker Wilson Isidor.
“The game wasn't a 3-0 game, in my opinion. I think we did a lot right up until the first goal, in terms of calming down the situation and being in control. They then scored a goal out of pretty much nothing, and then the environment changed which made it really challenging.”
The Englishman expressed his frustration with the reaction, or lack thereof, to the contest’s first goal.
“We didn’t react as well as we'd have liked, which I think is fair. Then the second goal was a second phase from a corner, which we didn’t do well enough with. Then the third came from our corner and a breakaway, which wasn’t good.”
Now, he hopes that the squad sees what they have to invest to get something out of the next game.
“You have to do everything well to win, and to earn it, and we didn’t. We have to accept that, deal with it and improve. I believe in the players, the team and the club. We were all gutted after the game last week, because there was optimism and positivity there. It’s up to all of us to react and perform.”
‘We need to connect more with our home fans’
**Chelsea**will be coming to Strafford from West London. They drew 0-0 against Stamford Bridge to start their schedule after a shortened preseason, but Potter still pays them respect. The Blues banked the Club World Cup title with a 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain, growing over the summer.
Chelsea *are a top team. To get the result we want will take a huge effort, a fantastic team performance and, as always, a bit of luck. They’re a talented side, with a talented coach, who are in a really good moment after winning the Club World Cup. We know we’re going to have to perform well as a team.”*
The manager made clear that the Hammers must put in a complete performance to get a good result.
“We’re expecting a big challenge, so our balance between defence and attack is going to have to be really good, and we’re going to have to give everything, which we will.”
One of the big takeaways from the first fixture was the importance of the support from the fans. The Stadium of Light was rocking at the sight of **Premier League**action for the first time since 2017.
*“A home atmosphere can make a big difference, and I have to say that the atmosphere at Sunderland was one of the best I've experienced in the Premier League.”*
The 50-year-old hopes to see a similarly excited atmosphere at the London Stadium on Friday night.
“You want the environment like that as a home team, and our responsibility is to connect with our supporters and provide them with the right performances and results. We have to get better results and we need to connect more with our home fans. Hopefully we do that against Chelsea tomorrow.”
‘I’m confident in the team’
Potter arrived in the dugout at the start of the year, and he could only guide the Hammers to 14th position in the table. The transition through Julen Lopetegui and away from David Moyes has not worked out for the East London outfit, and the manager made clear his project must strike a balance.
“I've known this job is a work in progress, and that you have to strike a balance between expectation and reality. You have to keep working and pushing to get to where you want to be. I think there is a lot more to come from the team. I’m confident in the team, in the players and in what we have here.”
Mohamed Kudus might have gone off the boil last campaign, but the £55 million man has already shown at Tottenham Hotspur what his old club will miss. On top of that, Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski, and Michail Antonio have all left with over 25 years of experience with the first team.
Jean-Clair Todibo has signed from Nice, Callum Wilson will bring experience from Newcastle United, while ElHadji Malick Diouf**** and Kyle Walker-Peters offer quality as wide defenders. The boss believes that more men could come through the door, but they have to fit the club's plan.
“It's about finding the right players, who are the right people with the right profiles. That isn’t easy to do, especially with restrictions like PSR, which every club has. Our job is to try to look for players who can improve us externally and at the same time help the players we have here.”
He has emphasised that the work will involve getting the best out of the group he has right now.
“The squad has had investment over a number of years, and we have to get more out of the squad we have. As I said, we'll also look to improve and we'll do that together, as a club.”