Head Coach Graham Potter is hopeful his West Ham United troops can bounce back from last weekend’s disappointing home defeat at the hands of Brentford when they travel to London neighbours Arsenal on Saturday afternoon.
Kevin Schade’s early strike proved the difference between the Hammers and the Bees last time out at London Stadium, and though the first-half display in particular was below par, the performance after the break provided a positive platform on which to build going forward.
A trip to the title-challenging Gunners - who sit one place and eight points below leaders Liverpool at the time of writing, having played one game fewer - presents an unenviable next task on paper, but Potter is confident the clash represents the ideal challenge for him and his players after a strong period of training.
Indeed, goals from Tomáš Souček and Dinos Mavropanos secured a hugely memorable 2-0 win for the Irons last time out in this away fixture, in December 2023, and a similar result little over a year on would serve a huge boost to the team’s current 16th-place standing in the ranks.
While discussing the upcoming match-up in his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon, as well as the aforementioned Brentford game, Potter was also quizzed by the media about individual members of his squad, and his reflections on his six weeks in charge so far…
Brentford reflections
We had to do a few things after the Brentford game. We had to acknowledge and understand that the first half wasn’t how we want to be, and how we want to go forward. Sometimes that can happen in a game, but we have had to work on correcting that, while focusing on some of the positives, as well.
It’s been a process of both this week, and we’re all excited about the challenge of going to Arsenal on Saturday now, and trying to come back with a positive result.
Building home form back up
It was disappointing to lose at home last week, and we’ll be looking to change that when we’re back at our own ground [against Leicester]. From my perspective, we always want to try and help the team play well at home.
You always want to try and play well, and entertain your home fans, and I think it’s fair to say that we haven’t done that enough. Having a strong home record helps the mood and positivity around the Club, and we’ll be looking to put that right. But first, we’re focused on our next game away at Arsenal.
Gunning for glory
Arsenal are a top team, but I think it’s a good game for us in terms of responding to the disappointment last week, and we’re looking forward to it.
I think Mikel’s [Arteta] done a great job in terms of developing the Club, and the team. They’re competing at the top end of all the competitions, so we know it’s going to be a tough game.
But, when you’ve done your analysis on a team you have to understand your own strengths and weaknesses and put a plan together that you think gives you a chance to go there, be competitive and get a result. It’s not going to be easy, but that’s what we’re in the Premier League for.
They’ve got some injuries, but my experience tells me that there’s never a good or bad time to play a team like Arsenal. Whoever plays, they’re going to be extremely competitive, so we know what we’re up against and the challenge is to be ready for that.
Ferguson settling in well
He [Evan Ferguson] came on and made a really good impact [against Brentford]. As I’ve said before, we just need to be careful in terms of how we’re building him up, and how many minutes he plays. Ninety minutes is probably a bit of a big step, I would say.
We need to make sure we’re taking him forward in the right way, because he hasn’t played a lot of minutes over a period of time. But, he’s training really well and fitting into the group nicely, which is what I thought he would do. He’s ready to help, and we just have to decide the right thing to do for him and the team.
He’s the sort of player who can bring others into the game, and he helps those around him. He’s working really hard in training, and everybody can see his quality. The key bit for us now is just to make sure that we take the right steps to get him to the right levels, so he can help the team in the best way possible.
Improving every day
The day-to-day work of the players is something I’ve been really pleased with, and that almost makes the Brentford game even more disappointing, because we weren’t able to see that.
Generally, the players have applied themselves in a really positive way. I think there’s been a bit of a change in behaviour and intensity in terms of how we’re playing and training, and that is a step-by-step process.
There have been a lot of positives since I came in, but clearly results-wise we have a lot of improvement to do. That’s where the work is, and we’re all in the same boat in terms of wanting more points.
Helping those on the sidelines
It can be a bit tricky with the injured players, because some of them are doing their rehab away from the main group, and the priority for them is to focus on that, and for us to give them the space to complete their work effectively.
As they get closer and closer to fitness, it’s about integrating them back into the group. I think generally the players are in a positive place, though of course things can always improve. We’ve had a lot of change over a period of time, and it takes time for that trust to properly build and develop.
Enjoying the role
I’m loving my time here, but there’s always more work to do and there’s always room for improvement. As I’ve said all along, this is a really big Club, with fantastic support, ambition and infrastructure, and that’s really positive.
There’s loads going for the Club, but obviously with changing manager midway through the season and some of the disappointing results, it has been a bit tricky at times. We know we have things we need to improve, but we’re excited about the challenge and yeah, I’m really enjoying it.
Personally, I’m in London now, so I go home if we’ve got a day off or my family come up here occasionally, but I’m enjoying my time here, working for this fantastic Football Club.
