New West Ham manager Potter hopes to build a team that fans can be proud of

In an interview, West Ham United's new coach Porter said that he hopes to build a team that the fans can be proud of and identify with, and he also hopes that the players will enjoy the journey and be excited about the goal.

Graham Potter, 49, has previously coached Brighton and Chelsea.

Currently, West Ham are 14th in the Premier League standings with 23 points, 13 points behind Chelsea, which is in 4th place, so they will face a big challenge in their fight for European qualification. In addition, West Ham will travel to Aston Villa in the third round of the 2024/25 FA Cup, which is another opportunity for the Hammers to win the championship.

Porter said in the interview, “I am very happy to be here and I am very proud to be the head coach of this great club. It has a strong tradition, a glorious history and high expectations. This will also be a huge challenge, but I am very excited at the moment. It feels like Christmas. I am very much looking forward to meeting the players and fans and getting to work.”

Looking forward to getting to know the players better

“This club has achieved some great things in recent years and we want to keep working on that. It’s my first day in the job so my focus right now is meeting the players and getting them ready for tomorrow’s game against Aston Villa. In my experience, if you can create a team that the fans can identify with and be proud of on the pitch, you build trust between the fans and the players, which is extremely important.”

Porter continued, "We need to show attitude, unity, fighting spirit and quality, because we know that the fans will recognize these and will fully support us. Having everyone share the same goal is crucial to the style of football we want to show and the use of resources. I hope everyone can enjoy this journey and be excited about it."

"The standards in the Premier League are very high, so if we can't unite and move forward together, it will become very difficult. Although it is a big challenge, everything is positive at the moment and I am very excited about the future."

In addition, when talking about the concept of tactics, Porter also said, "I think balance is the key. We can certainly talk about offensive football, but if we don't get the balance, it will become extremely difficult. This is my consistent football philosophy. Of course, we hope to attack and play beautiful football, but just like life, we need to find a balance. This is what we have to work hard to achieve."

"I need to get to know the players and work with them. I have some external knowledge of them, but you can only fully understand them when you really get in touch with them. I am very much looking forward to meeting the players, building a good relationship and giving my all for the fans."