West Ham’s late defeat to Brighton at the weekend means they have now won just three of their 15 matches under Graham Potter, leaving the Hammers still 17th in the league.
The side’s vulnerability in the latter stages of games has been an issue of late, with the Hammers conceding four goals in the 89th minute or later in their last three games, which has resulted in six points lost.
Kaoru Mitoma and Carlos Baleba’s late goals snatched victory away from the Hammers after Tomas Soucek had put them 2-1 up in the 83rd minute.
Cracks started to show within the squad in the lead-up to the game, with Niclas Fullkrug’s fiery post-match interview after the draw to Southampton summing up a disgruntled dressing room, and to throw away three points in such careless fashion will only make matters worse.
The lack of urgency to close the Brighton players down ultimately cost the Hammers two goals, and points being dropped in the final minutes for a third match running clearly shows a mentality problem among the squad.
Potter has prided himself on tightening the team’s defence, so to come so close to a memorable away win only to concede three goals and leave with nothing will undoubtedly hurt him more than any game has so far.
Frustration starting to show from Potter
Potter is a manager often perceived as calm and level-headed, but his post-match interview following the defeat to his former club showed a level of frustration we haven’t yet seen from the 49-year-old.
The manager seemed angered and agitated when speaking to the media after the game: “I can talk about the positives, but I can assure you I don’t feel anything positive at the moment because the feeling is incredibly tough and the players can feel it as well.
“No one wants to hear positives. It doesn’t matter. I’m sick of talking about positives.
“I have to come here and speak calmly to you guys, but that’s not how I’m feeling inside. If you want me to swear, I can swear,” Potter snapped.
The manager’s irritable nature in the interview would suggest this result has been his worse so far and only adds to the frustration among West Ham supporters, also casting further doubts on the coach’s suitability for the role.
