Gary Lineker had Joe Hart agreeing with him after his admission about Graham Potter’s form with West Ham on Match of the Day.
It was a defeat for West Ham against Brentford on Saturday (15 February) as the Irons were on the wrong side of a 1-0
This leaves the Hammers sitting 16th in the Premier League table, not where they would’ve hoped to find themselves under new management.
Gary Lineker moots slow Graham Potter start
West Ham have won just one of their six games under the management of Potter, drawing once and losing four times in all competitions.
The boss hasn’t had the easiest of circumstances during his time at The London Stadium so far with a number of injuries in the squad, including Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Niclas Fullkrug missing up top leaving limited options.
However, having had a break over FA Cup weekend, Potter was able to regain some players through fitness as well as having Evan Ferguson available to make his West Ham debut.
Nevertheless, it was another defeat for the Irons on Saturday, despite a fairly equal performance.
As a result, Gary Lineker was left questioning the manager’s start to life in East London as he pondered on Match of the Day (15 February): “One win in six for Graham Potter. Not really the bounce or the start that he would’ve wanted.”
Joe Hart replied: “No but you know, he’s gone into a team that have been struggling, no question about it and he’s certainly not got the bounce.
“He said he saw some positive signs in the second half but the first half was a really, really difficult start and that stadium, as we all know, can be a difficult place to play.”
Graham Potter needs another West Ham win
As Hart points out, Potter did come into a side that were really struggling this term so there was never an expectation of things changing overnight.
Furthermore, the 49-year-old was left with little space to make changes in the winter transfer window with his predecessor Julen Lopetegui having spent a fair amount in the summer transfer window.
With this in mind, it was always going to be more of a project for the Hammers under their new boss.
That being said, the current form of the East London outfit is showing little sign of any change and with defeats continuing to pile up, there are bound to be concerns inside The London Stadium.
Thankfully for the manager, his side are currently 10 points clear of the relegation zone giving them some breathing space.
Furthermore, with Bowen now back to fitness and Ferguson building his way into game time, this suggests that the boss will have the flexibility to make changes going forward.
Nevertheless, another victory under his belt would surely take off some immediate pressure and allow the Irons to focus on playing their best football.
