- Graham Potter insists he has a lot to prove when he takes over at West Ham
- He succeeds Julen Lopetegui almost two years after being fired by Chelsea
- Hear It’s all starting! Jack Grealish will not be allowed to roam at Man City… will be sold this summer if things don’t change
Graham Potter insists that if Pep Guardiola still has something to prove as a manager, so does he after the former Chelsea manager was unveiled as the new West Ham manager.
The 49-year-old branded his appointment as Hammers manager a “grown-up Christmas” as he spoke to the media for the first time this morning.
Potter signed a two-and-a-half-year contract as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement following the Spaniard’s dismissal and will take his first training session this afternoon.
He returns to management almost two years after a disastrous spell at Chelsea that saw him sacked just seven months into his reign at Stamford Bridge.
“When I listen to Pep Guardiola, he says he has something to prove,” Potter said. “If he has something to prove, then we all have it.” That’s the reality.
‘In professional sports you always have something to prove every day. It drives you forward. I feel comfortable with myself, I feel comfortable with who I am and what I have done. Clearly no one is perfect.
Graham Potter says he has a lot to prove as a manager – especially if Pep Guardiola does it!
The Englishman said he was so excited to close the deal that it was “like Christmas for adults.”
Even Guardiola, for all his success, has faced questions about his management this season.
‘Life is about taking the successes and accepting the setbacks and accepting the defeats and accepting the mistakes or whatever you want to call it and dealing with it and getting stronger. That’s part of who we are.
‘You, as journalists, will be the same. You’re not going to write everything brilliantly and sometimes maybe a piece isn’t that good and you reflect on that and say, okay, maybe I can do something better. That’s how it is.
“But I think now I’m a better person for the experience, a better coach for the experience and I’m well rested.”
‘Twelve years non-stop as a football coach in three different countries, climbing from the fourth division to the round of 16 of the Champions League. It doesn’t come for free, so the breaks have been good for me. It gives me the opportunity to reflect.”
Potter admitted he didn’t get much sleep last night as negotiations wrapped up on his deal, which was announced at 8 a.m. Thursday.
“It’s a proud day to be the coach of this incredible club. It’s a great tradition, a great story, a great expectation, a great challenge. It’s like Christmas for adults. I didn’t sleep as well as I could because of the excitement. I have many eager to meet players and fans.
‘It was important to choose the right option for me at the right time. And as soon as I spoke to this club, I felt good.”