West Ham United

James Jones
Fan writer

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Graham Potter's reaction to Saturday's defeat at Brighton was entirely understandable.

He has watched his players throw away seven points to late goals in the last six games, leading to a run of seven Premier League games without a win since beating Leicester City 2-0 at the end of February.

The latest, despite coming from behind to lead 2-1 with only five minutes to go, will have hurt the most. Not because it was against his former club, but because it underlined Niclas Fullkrug's comments last weekend, when West Ham conceded a 93rd-minute Southampton equaliser at home.

There is a very clear problem with mentality throughout the squad at the moment. While we have become notably harder to beat since Potter's arrival, we have also made it harder to win.

Since he replaced Julen Lopetegui, Potter's West Ham have lost by more than one clear goal just once in 15 matches, which is a marked improvement on the nine times the team had lost by more than one clear goal under the Spaniard.

But the struggle to hold on to leads and win games is one that overshadows the defensive improvements.

So it's no surprise Potter refused to talk about any positives he's seen in his squad over the last few months, because they mean nothing if they don't translate into better results.

With Premier League survival secured, now it's simply a case of waiting for the season to end so that Potter can get to work on overhauling the squad over the summer. We shouldn't expect much to change over the next four games, but the priority before next season is to ensure the squad is full of players who are disciplined, who want to win and who have the mentality needed to win at this level.

What that means for the majority of the players currently at West Ham remains to be seen, but I think we might get an idea of what players are lacking in those areas when the transfer window opens.

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Brighton and West Ham United at Amex Stadium.

Here are some of your replies:

Brighton fans

David: Astonishing effort from the whole squad. We were so determined to win the game, so good!

Oscar: What an ending! Yasin Ayari - where do I start? He bossed the midfield and scored a goal to fit his perfect performance. Kaoru Mitoma was an amazing super-sub, using his pace down the wing. Carlos Baleba was in a different position to where he usually plays, but he played it really well. The whole team played amazing to comeback from 1-2 to win 3-2. Just amazing!

Tom: An absolutely incredible end to the game. A rollercoaster of emotions; however we cannot rely on late equalisers and winners. We need to build on this result and try to get maximum points. If West Ham hadn't switched off towards the end of the game, we would have gone away with no points. Fabian Hurzeler is a lucky man!

Noddy: No goalkeeper in the world would have been able to save those two goals.

Chris: A decent 'paper-over-the-cracks' performance at last, but that still can't win over a disappointing season. European football is only a very slim chance given Fulham and Bournemouth are still collecting points, our on and off form and unpredictable player performances. It really has been a wasted run-in so far. A change is needed at the top for next season.

West Ham fans

Steve: A better performance - very encouraging. We have nothing to play for, admittedly. It's about building for next year now. I think Potter should be given time, I'm starting to see us on the front foot. We move on.

Justin: Poor, lacklustre, abysmal! Take your pick. Potter has shown no tactical ability in his starting line-ups or substitutions. The team has shown no signs of improvement under him. I wasn't enamoured by his appointment. To only avoid a relegation battle because the three teams below us are so dire just isn't good enough for a man who was at one time going to be England's new manager.

Anthony: We were doing well and then we brought on Vladimir Coufal and he immediately helped Brighton score. It was a poor decision from Potter. They are playing well under him, and gradually improving, but they are either missing scoring opportunities or giving goals away by poor defending. Plenty of work to be done this summer.

Rod: Shocking, embarrassing, limp, laughable, clueless and unprofessional. Did I miss anything?

Peter: No amount of feeble excuses from Potter will disguise the fact that he has failed to fulfil his mandate.

West Ham, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea, and Liverpool are all interested in signing Canada striker Jonathan David, 25, when his Lille contract expires in the summer - but Marseille are hoping to persuade the player to stay in France. (RMC Sport, via Get Football News France, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Mark Chapman presents highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures, which saw Ipswich Town's relegation from the top-flight confirmed.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentary from Newcastle United 3-0 Ipswich Town on BBC Sounds.

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West Ham United boss Graham Potter has been talking to BBC Match of the Day about the narrow defeat: "The ability to sustain our performance is the biggest factor. We did a lot of good things. We have been done by two goals from outside the box. We created chances, scored two goals, but you need to sustain that and that is the challenge for us.

"Nobody wants to hear about the positives, but there were some over the course of the game. The emotion of the result is hard to take - and we just have to accept that feeling and deal with it.

"We have lost, thrown points away at the end of the game, and we are hurting."

On Premier League safety being confirmed: "We have to acknowledge the season we are having is a bad one. The fact we have stayed clear is good, but it is not good enough. We have to do better."

Joe Nelson
BBC Sport journalist

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Ipswich's relegation on Saturday was good news for West Ham because Graham Potter's team being beaten at Brighton means they are still 17th in the Premier League with 36 points.

The Hammers started the season with plenty of optimism under Julen Lopetegui but after earlier struggles and a change of manager, the London club have not managed to consistently get back to the desired level of performance.

They threatened against Brighton and scored twice but defensive frailties once again were their undoing.

Last weekend, Southampton levelled against the Hammers in the last minute and on Saturday, they conceded twice in the closing stages to go from three points to none.

Potter's team have not won in seven and while they cannot be relegated, 2024-25 has not panned out how their fans would have hoped.

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West Ham United forward Jarrod Bowen has been speaking to Premier League Productions after the defeat: "It's gutting - to lose the game in that manner is sickening, but we have to look at ourselves.

"This is not the first time we have been in a winning position and not picked up points. This is the Premier League, you have to be on it.

"We have four big games to end the season. We have Tottenham next week, which is a big derby for us, so we have to bounce back."

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Only Southampton (5), Ipswich Town (5) and Leicester City (4) have collected fewer points in the Premier League than West Ham United since Graham Potter's first game in charge (13 points).

Yasin Ayari and Carlos Baleba's goals were the 10th and 11th West Ham United have conceded from outside the penalty area in the Premier League this season, with only Fulham (12) conceding more.

Jarrod Bowen provided his 36th and 37th assist for the Hammers in the Premier League, the most of any player for the club in the competition.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Brighton's performance

What did you make of West Ham's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Five matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Chelsea v Everton (12:30)

• Brighton v West Ham

• Newcastle v Ipswich - BBC Radio 5 Live commentary

• Southampton v Fulham

• Wolves v Leicester

All kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Both of these teams are badly in need of a win - Brighton have gone five games without a victory, while West Ham are on a run of six.

There are a lot of unhappy Hammers fans at the moment, especially after they could only draw with Southampton last week.

That is not the kind of result that wins fans over, and seeing Graham Potter take Jarrod Bowen off with the score at 1-0 did not help.

Potter has picked up fewer points per game since taking charge than his predecessor, Julen Lopetegui, and I don't see much changing for him on his return to the Amex, where he had a much happier time.

Brighton have issues too - their form has fallen off a cliff of late and their supporters are not pleased with the way they are finishing the season either.

They have still had a decent campaign, but they have become leaky at the back and they could do with a positive result or two if they are going to stay in with a chance of making it into Europe.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Holly Turbutt
Fan writer

Find more from Holly Turbutt at West Ham Network, external

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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West Ham could decide to sell highly-rated forward Mohammed Kudus to fund additions to manager Graham Potter's squad this summer.

The 24-year-old has been one of the Hammers most dangerous players since his £38m arrival from Ajax in 2023.

However, he has only scored three goals this term, and none since 21 December, in what has been a difficult campaign for the east London outfit.

Potter replaced Julen Lopetegui in mid-season while technical director Tim Steidten also left after West Ham started the new campaign badly.

After a huge outlay in excess of £250m over the past two summers, made possible by Declan Rice's £105m move to Arsenal in 2023, West Ham's hierarchy feel they need to balance any additions to Potter's squad with sales.

In an ideal world, they would prefer not to sell Kudus but they are aware of growing interest in the forward from Europe and elsewhere. The feeling around London Stadium is that his price will likely rise to a level that would make it counter-productive not to consider a sale.

The situation around Kudus is not made easier by the continuing uncertainty over West Ham's other main creative force, Brazil international Lucas Paqueta, whose FA case into betting breaches is still to be concluded.

West Ham boss Graham Potter has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game away against Brighton (15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Potter confirmed Edson Alvarez is still sidelined with a back injury but will "hopefully be back next week" while Aaron Wan-Bissaka "should be back". He confirmed that player availability otherwise is the same as against Southampton.

• He said he "understands the fans' frustrations" at recent results: "We're not playing how we want to play but to look at the bigger picture, it's not so straightforward to change things. You have to accept things and be up for the challenge. I want to support the players, who have been brilliant, and we'll fight together."

• More on his time in charge so far: "In the 40 or so games before I arrived, the team conceded a lot of goals. The fans are upset of course, and I'm the same, but at the same time we played well at Anfield and have been competitive in all the games."

• When asked about the Hammers' habit of conceding late goals, Potter said: "It's a number of factors. It's very complicated. When we came in, we were conceding early goals, and now it's late goals, but it's very tough for very different reasons."

• Potter was asked about Niclas Fullkrug's comments, external after last weekend's draw: "Sometimes you have to understand that after a game, everyone's emotional. It should be that way, but when you're a leader you have to accept the emotion and put things in perspective. Niclas wears his heart on his sleeve and he's entitled to his opinion. For me, it's better to have conversations in private. You have to be able to be honest and to think about the team as well."

• On Jean-Clair Todibo's difficult campaign: "Injuries play a part. I think he arrived late to pre-season as well. The team's been full of transition. The club invested a lot of money in the summer, but if you look at consistent minutes, it's not been easy. I've enjoyed working with him and he'll continue to get better."

• On returning to former club Brighton: "I have nothing but respect, love and gratitude for my time there. There were fantastic people, and I have great memories. Obviously I want to win, but I'll always look back fondly on my time there. They're not on a great run now, but that can happen because of various factors."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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In some ways, Graham Potter's start at West Ham has gone under the radar because the bottom three have been as bad as they are and we have the storyline of Wolves becoming one of the form sides in the division.

It is not necessarily a wasted season, but it is a hugely disappointing one for the supporters. With the players that signed, there would have been a belief this team could be half decent again.

They won the Conference League and were pushing for Champions League spots. When Declan Rice was there, he talked about their disappointment of not qualifying.

Now though, the fans want the season to end and they want Potter to do something in the summer, whether that is bringing in players or really coaching them up to a better standard. They need next season to be more exciting and to have something to believe in.

Niclas Fullkrug caused a stir with his post-match comments after the drab draw with Southampton but I do not mind that as long as that is who he is generally.

He was speaking as if the manager believed in what he was saying as well. The comments are likely the consequence of the manager saying similar to the players, which is why Fullkrug felt the right to be able to say that in front of the cameras.

I do not mind someone delivering passion. I do not think there would be many in that squad who would argue what he is saying is essentially wrong.

The mentality of players can be very different in key moments and as a consequence, if you're not united, it can be quite disappointing.

It was off the back of an unacceptable result so there is lots of emotion tied in.

After they scored one, they would be anticipating scoring more so I get it. He probably said it in the dressing room already. There are some players who come in and, even if they have not been there for a long time, because they have leadership qualities, when they speak, people listen.

It is just about the balance and, if what he is saying is true, you can try and push back against it, but he's going to explain why he thinks you are wrong.

I do not think it will cause any more friction in the squad because there is going to be disappointment and disagreements already. After the game, there will have been shouting and arguments - then things calm down and people select what they say to the broadcasters.

Fullkrug's comments will not be anything new. I am sure from the way he is outspoken in front of a camera, he is also very outspoken on the pitch and in the dressing room.

What he said to the media will just be the tip of the iceberg.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

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The Sun journalist Jack Rosser still believes West Ham were right to get rid of David Moyes at the end of last season.

The Hammers are 17th in the table under Graham Potter, whereas last season the club finished ninth.

Since starting a second spell at Everton in January, Moyes has taken the club to 13th in the table, winning five and drawing six of his 14 league games.

Speaking on BBC Radio Sussex's Albion Unlimited podcast to preview West Ham's game at Brighton on Saturday, Rosser said: "Ten or 15 games feel like 100 games at the moment. There hasn't been loads to get excited about. There was the result against Arsenal.

"Not because of Graham Potter, but it's been a difficult season. There was a lot to do in the summer in terms of moving on from David Moyes. That was still the right decision - a lot of people thought it had run its course.

"What he's doing now at Everton doesn't help. No-one really saw where West Ham are coming. I think they're at their lowest position at this point of the season since they last got relegated.

"Everything this season has rested on Jarrod Bowen. They've had injury problems - , Niclas Fullkrug being a big one, while Crysencio Summerville has had a lot of time out, Bowen a bit of time out and Luas Paqueta has had his FA spot-fixing case hanging over him all season and not played to the level West Ham fans know he can reach.

"A lot of people are just waiting for next season. Southampton are one of the worst teams in Premier League history. If you can't go out and put them to the sword then there really are problems.

"Difficult and hard to watch is the story of the season."

You can listen to the full chat here

West Ham and Ghana winger Mohammed Kudus, 24, is a top target for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr.

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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