TBR Football can exclusively reveal that West Ham United owner David Sullivan will give Graham Potter two more games to turn things around in east London.
After 180 minutes, West Ham are rock bottom of the Premier League and Graham Potter’s side have conceded eight goals in their opening two games.
Fans at the London Stadium will have hoped for a swift recovery from their 3-0 defeat to Sunderland on the opening weekend.
However, things did not get any better against Chelsea back in east London on Friday, and it’s been a miserable beginning to the new campaign for Hammers fans.
TBR Football recently revealed that Sullivan was considering sacking Potter, and the West Ham owner has now set a clear deadline for improvement.
Exclusive: David Sullivan will give Graham Potter two games to save his West Ham job
Chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that Sullivan has been rocked by West Ham’s poor start, and he is continuing to contemplate whether a change needs to be made.
Potter currently has a worse win-rate than Julen Lopetegui and Gianfranco Zola as West Ham manager in the Premier League, and there’s currently no sign of improvement.
West Ham manager Graham Potter looking on during a game
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
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As a result, Potter will get two more games to prove that he is capable of turning things around in east London.
In terms of what is up next for the Hammers, they’ll face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EFL Cup before travelling to the City Ground in the Premier League to come up against Nottingham Forest.
Those two fixtures will then be followed by the September international break, which might prove as an opportune time for Sullivan to introduce a new head coach, should things not improve.
Graham Potter knew that ‘enjoyment’ would be key at West Ham
Interestingly, in his first interview as West Ham boss back in January, Potter spoke about the importance of players and fans enjoying the football on show – something that certainly isn’t the case right now.
Potter said: “I think if you ask most supporters, they would say they want to be entertained, and I think that’s the case at West Ham with all the Club’s history and tradition.
“With all of that, and with my experiences, that’s something we’ll be looking to do.
“Enjoyment is important, and I think if the players are enjoying themselves, that can help transmit enjoyment to the terraces.”
Of course, some will feel as if Potter hasn’t been sufficiently backed in the transfer market to fulfil that vision.
But clearly Sullivan is concerned by Potter’s ability to get the best out of the players already at the London Stadium.