Graham Potter is looking forward to West Ham United’s Premier League clash against Southampton on Saturday, when he hopes his players can kickstart a strong end to the season with a first win since the end of February.
The Hammers welcome the already-relegated Saints to London Stadium off the back of a five-game winless run that has left them 17th in the standings, though still within three points of Everton four places above them.
After a commendable performance at home to AFC Bournemouth earlier this month, that yielded a 2-2 draw, Potter’s troops went toe-to-toe with title favourites Liverpool last time out, and despite ultimately being left empty-handed at Anfield, took plenty of positives from their trip to Merseyside.
Next up lies an altogether different challenge, against a team who, as it stands with six games of the season to go, have accumulated one point fewer than Derby County’s all-time record-low top-flight total of eleven, following a miserable campaign that has produced just two wins and four draws, and seen managers Russell Martin and Ivan Jurić shown the door.
Potter’s former Boston United teammate Simon Rusk will therefore lead Southampton in east London this weekend, along with his interim assistant Adam Lallana, as they up their quest for at least the two points needed to avoid the label of being the Premier League’s worst ever side.
Having come up via the EFL Championship Play-Offs last term, the south coast team have shown their quality when taking points off the likes of Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham, while earlier this month they were denied what would have been an impressive victory over Crystal Palace by Matheus França's stoppage-time equaliser.
And having run the Irons close in the reverse fixture, that was settled by a Jarrod Bowen strike just before the hour mark on Boxing Day, Potter knows that his team will need to be back to their best in order to record their tenth victory of 2024/25.
With the anticipation for kick-off continuing to build, the Head Coach sat down with the gathered press on Thursday afternoon, when he was asked about the upcoming opposition, his longer-term hopes for the team and the influence of former Saints captain James Ward-Prowse within his first-team camp…
Ready for Saints test
I think we have to focus on ourselves, and we have to put in a good performance. We know the role we’ll have to play in the game, of course, but it’s football, and anything can happen.
I know Simon [Rusk] and Adam [Lallana] well - the guys who are taking Southampton. They’ll be prepared, they’ll be competitive, and they’ve got quality players.
So, we have to respect that, for sure. And then it’s about us, again, producing a performance that we’re proud of. If we do that, I think we’ve got a good chance.
It’s a different challenge to Liverpool last weekend, but it’s just as big. Like I said, I’ve been in football long enough to know that nothing’s guaranteed and nothing’s easy.
And it certainly won’t be on Saturday. Southampton will come with pride and with spirit and with quality. And we have to make sure we’re ready.
Familiar faces in the opposition dugout
I’ve known Simon a long time - I played with him at Boston United, and I was with him at Brighton as well. He’s a really good coach, and a good person. As I said, he’ll make sure Southampton are competitive and organised, and he’ll be getting the most out of the players.
I worked with Adam as well, at Brighton. He’s got fantastic quality, and an understanding of the game. He’s got a desire to learn, he’s really good with people, and he’s seen the game at the highest level. So, he’s got all the potential to be a fantastic coach. Now, it’s just about the right path for him, and the right support for him.
I’m pleased for those two, but obviously we want to take three points ourselves and we need to be ready on Saturday.
Striving for strong home form
We haven’t won at home since late February, and that’s something we want to put right. So, we need to play well on Saturday and we’ll look to do that.
The supporters have been brilliant since we’ve been here. They’ve been fantastic in terms of their support both home and away.
They’ve got behind the team, and when we haven’t been so good, they’ve been fair with us. At the same time, we understand if we’re not winning and we’re not performing as well as we’d like, there’s always frustration around.
But generally, the supporters have been amazing. I think this period is difficult for us, but I think when we come through this, it’s a nice foundation for us to achieve something really exciting here.
Top-class team spirit
The daily work has been, I would say, of a really high level since we’ve been here.
I’m frustrated for the players, really, that we haven’t been able to show that in a game as much as we’d have liked. I think there have been good moments, but not enough. And that hasn’t transferred into consistent results yet.
But a lot of what I see is really positive. Like I said, there’s a foundation of, I think, things that can take us forward. But the players, the attitude in training, the spirit amongst the group, has been really good.
Everybody wants to play. And, of course, when people don’t play, they’re disappointed. But the way they handle themselves is first class, and they’re ready to support the team and help the team. So I’ve been really impressed with them.
We’ve been competitive in all the games, which is good, and some games we’ve been better than others. It’s a work in progress, but we just need to take the next step. We were good against Liverpool, but we just need to continue that constant work.
Eyeing a sprint finish
We start with Saturday. We start by looking for three points and a good performance.
We need to finish the season off as strongly as we can with as many points as we can. But at the same time, building the performances. We’re happy with what we did against Liverpool in terms of how we played, and now we need to turn that into wins.
Looking ahead
I think every squad and every Premier League team is the same. They have to adjust their team and adjust the squad for different reasons. But clearly where we are now, we don’t want to be. We need to improve.
It’s a simple thing. But at the same time, we have to make the right decisions around aligning all the resources that we have and then work together to produce a team that people can recognise and are proud of.
For now though, we’re just focused on the next game, and putting all our energy into putting in a positive performance and getting a positive result on Saturday. When you do that, things take care of themselves.
Füllkrug fighting for full fitness
He was out for a long time with a hamstring injury, and it’s hard to replicate those 90 minutes in Premier League football when you’re recovering. It’s the challenge when you bring your players back in from a long-term injury - how you can build them up safely.
But, he’s getting stronger and stronger and he’s able to play more and more. So that’s good for us.
Impressed by Ward-Prowse
He’s been great. He came back from his loan spell in January, where he wasn’t playing as much as he perhaps would’ve liked, but his level in terms of training and how he acts every day has been brilliant.
It’s a top level, it’s a top standard, and I think that’s really helpful to the team and for the environment that we want to try and create here. And then in midfield, I think he brings a balance.
He brings quality. Obviously set-pieces are very dangerous for us, and James is known for that. But I think he’s just still getting to know the team and how the team functions better and better.
I’ve really, really enjoyed working with him. He’s a fantastic professional and someone who leads by example. He gives his absolute best every day, and trains with the highest level as if it’s the last day of his career. He’s a fantastic role model, I think, for all the other players.
Antonio working hard
Michail’s progressing step-by-step, and making good progress. He’s away from us at the moment, just training. But he’s due back soon, so yeah, we’re happy with how he’s doing.
As I’ve said before, it’s a long process with what he’s had to deal with. But he’s put in the work and the Club are supporting him, we’re supporting him, so it’s going well.
