Graham Potter fits in with modern east London culture and can create identity of togetherness at West Ham
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In all my years in football, taking the decision to part company with a manager has never been an easy, straightforward, or enjoyable task. Regardless of the fact that it is an unavoidable, familiar part of the game, or that it is a call made purely for sporting reasons, there remains a sense of sadness and disappointment, on a human level, that things haven’t worked out as you had hoped.
![[Karen Brady at a West Ham United match.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/qualifying-third-round-west-ham-570134785.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
At West Ham United, we have always taken as much care and pride in recruiting the ‘man’ as we have in recruiting the ‘manager’. And so we were disappointed that things didn’t work out with Julen Lopetegui. A good man, a family man, an extremely hard-working man, who was a pleasure to deal with and wanted to be successful here as much as we wanted him to be.
![[Graham Potter, new West Ham United manager, in a promotional photo.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/120-images-no-video-emulation-962403306.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
We wish Julen and his staff, who worked so well with our team on and off the pitch, all the very best in their future endeavours. Ultimately though, we have an ambitious project at this football club, and we have a responsibility to our loyal and passionate supporters to do all we can to keep that on track.
![[Graham Potter, new West Ham United manager, in a promotional photo.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1c5c159c-426e-44d0-a976-6230cc90221d.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
In Graham Potter, we have recruited another very good man, a hugely respected elite Premier League coach, and someone who was the unanimous choice of our Board to steer our project back in the right direction. From our early conversations with Graham, we felt the overwhelming sense that he is the right fit for West Ham United, as are we for him.
![[West Ham's next five Premier League games.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/the-sun-22-23-next-5-games-638c6ef9-489e-4b11-b49b-8848699e636a.png?strip=all&w=960)
As Graham himself has said, since leaving Chelsea 20 months ago, he has been waiting for and carefully considering the right opportunity, seeking the challenge and project that would re-ignite the feeling of excitement and anticipation that would inspire his return to top-flight management.
