There has been a noticeably positive atmosphere around West Ham United since Graham Potter’s appointment as Head Coach a month ago.
The 49-year-old’s clear communication and positive tactics have been appreciated by players, staff and supporters alike.
The squad have enjoyed training under Potter and his coaches Bruno, Billy Reid and Narcís Pelach, young Academy of Football prospects have welcomed opportunities to shine, and every player has been given a clean slate from which to impress.
Performances have been encouraging too, but three tough away games at Aston Villa – in the Emirates FA Cup third round and Premier League – and Chelsea and competitive home derbies with Fulham and Crystal Palace have not yielded the results the Hammers’ displays have warranted.
Captain Jarrod Bowen returned to action after missing Potter’s first four games in charge with a fractured foot with a goal and superb all-round performance at Chelsea last time out, and the England international is determined to turn improvement into points when another west London opponent, Brentford, visit London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
“We've had a bit of time since the Chelsea game, so we've had a good amount of time to work, and to have a couple of days away from the training ground as well and really refresh our minds and come back to work,” he began. “That's what we've done and we've had a really good week.
“The Head Coach has worked his ways this week in training. The lads have got a really good buzz about them, which is really nice to see, and I think we're all ready for Saturday.
“We need to win the game. It's all well and good being positive about it, but we have to go out there and win the game and that's on us. We've got full confidence in the way that we're approaching it on Saturday, back at home, and we’ll go out to win the game.”
Bowen’s return is just one of a number of reasons for optimism ahead of the visit of the Bees, with Evan Ferguson set to make his debut after joining on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, James Ward-Prowse returning from a loan spell at Nottingham Forest and Lucas Paquetá, Edson Álvarez and Jean-Clair Todibo all back in training after recovering from their own injuries.
Potter has competition for places in his team, therefore, and Bowen said that can only be a good thing.
“We’ve got a few players back, Evan has joined us and Prowsey is back,” the skipper confirmed. “It's always good for a Head Coach to have lots of options, and it ups the intensity in training as everyone knows he can only pick eleven.
“That said, it doesn’t matter when you get the opportunity, whether that’s from the start like Andy Irving did at Chelsea, or late on, like Luis Guilherme and the Academy boys have in recent games, you need to be ready to play your part. That’s the mindset we have to have here. We need everyone to contribute to be a successful team and go right to the top, which is where we want to go.”
The return of senior players may mean Academy trio Ollie Scarles, Kaelan Casey and Lewis Orford have to be patient for their next senior opportunities, but Bowen is confident both they, and 19-year-old Brazilian Luis Guilherme, will be ready should they be called upon again this weekend.
“Talking of the Academy lads, they’ve been doing great when they’ve featured for us and trained with us, as a few of the boys have done regularly recently,” he observed. “I can remember being a teenager and getting my first taste of senior football at Hereford and then at Hull, and it was a great honour for me, as it is for them now.
“It's full credit to them because, as the saying goes, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough, and that’s definitely the way the Head Coach thinks here now. He understands the spirit of this Club and why it has got a nickname of the ‘Academy of Football’. We've had some brilliant players come through the ranks down the years and we've got brilliant players in the youth set-up now who are being integrated into the first team. So, it's great to see and it's great for the fans as well to see youngsters coming up through and playing minutes in the Premier League.
“It's full credit to all the young guys who are training well every single day and I'm sure there'll be many more who will get their opportunity and then it’s up to them to take it, kick on and progress.”
