No expectations: Graham Potter wants the best from his squad amid transfer talk

Graham Potter said he had “no expectations” of West Ham entering the transfer market this month after being unveiled as head coach.

The club’s recruitment has been heavily criticised following a summer splurge that saw more than £130million spent, but with the team languishing in 14th in the Premier League with just six wins that business has looked far from frugal.

Striker Niclas Fullkrug, a £27m capture from Borussia Dortmund, and teenage Brazilian winger Luis Guilherme have stood out in particular as questionable buys. Fullkrug has managed only two goals whilst 18-year-old Guilherme has made four substitute appearances since arriving from Palmeiras for a reported £25m.

Potter replaces the sacked Julen Lopetegui, who departed the club on Wednesday after only six months in the job, and said he is prepared to work with the squad as it currently stands despite the team’s indifferent start to the season.

“I don’t think there’s an expectation (of January business),” he said. “I think in every window there’s always a responsibility for the club to look and to see if there’s anything that can help us in terms of whether that’s short-term, medium-term, long-term. That’s normal. Every club in the world is in that position.

“The challenge for us is to make some quick decisions and to learn around what we have, what the strengths of the players are, how we can support them, if we can.

“The January window is not the most easy of windows. It can be complicated. So I have no expectations in terms of that.

“It’s more that my focus is on the team that we’ve got, the players that we’ve got, how I can try to help them. And then at the same time, always be aware of opportunities that can come.”

The appointment is Potter’s first since being sacked by Chelsea in April 2023.

His time at Stamford Bridge was dramatic for all the wrong reasons. Whirlwind transfer activity led by the club’s co-owners, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, left him with a bloated and unbalanced squad which he struggled to get the best from, whilst supporters never warmed to him despite success at former club Brighton.

He was linked with a number of posts during the 21 months he spent out of work, including the England job, whilst he was reportedly close to taking over at Ajax in the Eredivisie last season.

Despite failing at Chelsea, the reputation gained during three impressive seasons at the Amex Stadium – as well as in guiding Swedish side Ostersund from the fourth division to the top flight and into the Europa League – has survived largely intact.

Asked about his extended hiatus from management, Potter said: “I’ve learned that I’m pretty competent, to be honest. I’ve learned to not worry too much about what people from the outside think of me. I understand that opinions will be positive and negative, and I’m not here to persuade anybody either way.

“It’s about your work, it’s about how you interact with everybody. My relationships with the people I’ve worked with, players, staff, over the 12, 13 years have been really, really positive, so that tells me something about myself as a person.”