Graham Potter has opened up on his ‘incredibly disappointing’ West Ham sacking. 

Just hours after West Ham dismissed their manager before Monday’s match against Everton and decided to appoint Nuno Espirito Santo as his successor, the 50-year-old Englishman issued a statement in response.

Through the LMA, Potter expressed: ‘I am very disappointed to be departing from West Ham United Football Club, especially without fulfilling the goals we set out to accomplish from the beginning of our journey in East London.’

‘Firstly, thank you to the board for offering me the opportunity to manage the team during the past 8 months.

‘It was an honour and a privilege to manage such a historic club, which holds such strong values for footballing traditions and passion for the game.

Graham Potter admitted that results at West Ham have not been good enough 

‘I would like to extend my gratitude to all the staff at the club for making me feel welcome, to the playing squad for their continued efforts during my tenure, and lastly to the fans, who have offered tremendous support throughout what has sometimes been a challenging journey.’

‘I wish the club nothing but the best of luck for the future. Thank you and goodbye for now. Come on you irons. GP X.’

Potter is the second manager to lose his position in this new Premier League season, following in the footsteps of the man initially dismissed by Nottingham Forest.

After taking over from Julen Lopetegui in January, the 50-year-old managed only 25 games before leaving the club, which is currently struggling in 19th place in the standings.

Under his leadership, the Hammers secured just three victories in their last 15 Premier League matches, in a disappointing streak stretching back to the end of last season. The 2-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace last weekend marked his final game in charge.

West Ham’s only victory this season came against Forest, beating their new manager’s old side 3-0 in what proved to be his last game at the City Ground. 

‘West Ham United can confirm that Head Coach Graham Potter has left the Club,’ an official statement read. 

‘Results and performances over the course of the second half of last season and the start of the 2025/26 season have not matched expectations, and the Board of Directors believe that a change is necessary in order to help improve the team’s position in the Premier League as soon as possible.

Potter’s side were languishing in 19th in the table when the axe fell on him 

‘The Club can confirm that Assistant Coach Bruno Saltor, First Team Coaches Billy Reid and Narcis Pelach, Lead Goalkeeper Coach Casper Ankergren, and Goalkeeper Coach Linus Kandolin have also left with immediate effect.

‘The Board would like to thank Graham and his coaching staff for their hard work during their time with the Hammers and wish them every success for the future.’

West Ham had only won once this season under Potter after being walloped 3-0 away at newly-promoted Sunderland to set the tone on opening day. 

That was followed by a 5-1 home hammering by Chelsea and EFL Cup exit at the hands of Wolves before the momentary optimism of the win at Forest was snuffed out by Tottenham and Crystal Palace winning at London Stadium. 

Potter has now been sacked in less than a year from his previous two jobs – lasting seven months at Chelsea following his impressive spell at Brighton. 

On Friday in his final press conference, Potter had spoken about the pressure he was under and admitted results were not good enough, although he also claimed to have held ‘positive talks’ with club bosses. 

He said: ‘It doesn’t affect me. I don’t listen to that. It’s your job, and other people’s jobs, to create speculation and it’s part of the noise of the Premier League; it’s what you sign up for.’ 

‘So if results aren’t good, which they haven’t been and no one is shying away from that, the results aren’t what we want, then there’s always speculation. 

‘There’s always noise, there’s always negativity, and there’s nothing to complain about from my perspective.’ 

Regarding talks about his future with the hierarchy at the club, Potter added: ‘We’ve had positive talks but we all understand where we are at and we want to improve. 

‘As I said before, no one is happy with where we are at, but at the same time you have to look at the context and the situation and not get caught up in the noise.’ 

He also responded to internet mockery, with a trend of putting his face on various celebrities and images going viral. 

Potter remarked: ‘It made my 15-year-old son laugh a lot so, as I said, you have to accept what comes with it. It comes with criticism, it comes with ridicule but that’s just the environment we’re in and it is what it is.’

Potter was appointed with the intention of bringing a more progressive style of play to West Ham. 

But the move to appoint Espirito Santo suggests a shift back to the pragmatic after his conservative approach worked so successfully at Forest last season. 

The Hammers face a testing first couple of games under their new manager, away at Goodison Park before visiting title-chasing Arsenal at the Emirates.