West Ham concluded the pressure on Graham Potter with a 3-0 loss to newly promoted Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Graham Potter has denounced West Ham players for failing “the basics of football” in a nightmare-like first-day defeat. The irons were hit 3-0 by the newly promoted Sunderland.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bliss is the fifth in a way that coincides with Potter’s five Premier League win tally since being appointed to West Ham in January. Two of them opposed the side that was ultimately demoted last season, and Irons fans are afraid of the same for the club this season.
The hosts took the lead over Eliezer Mayenda 61 minutes later, with Dan Ballard and Wilson Isidor to a comfortable margin of victory. Potter was furious at his team’s display and challenged him to “really improve” the basics ahead of his home game against former club Chelsea on Friday.
“It’s very unfortunate,” the West Ham manager lamented Sky Sports after the game. “The second half wasn’t good for us in terms of basics.
“The first half was really good, so it was unfortunate to control the crowd and not score. The initial goal was always to be important. The basics of football have to really improve.
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“It’s the first day. We know that these things can happen as much as we don’t like to happen. We have a big game on Friday. We have to respond and get better.”
In an interview with Club Media, Potter doubled his scathing ratings. “The outcome was clearly bad for us and the second half was a real disappointment,” he continued.
“In the first half we thought it was good, I thought we did a lot in terms of quieting the crowd and creating some opportunities.
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“We got a little late in the second half and we got a goal out of nowhere, which made it difficult. Perhaps the first goal, especially the game with the environment, was a game that was challenging for us. But we tried to push.
“But when we tried to push, we opened up ourselves. The second goal is poor. Mistakes lead to cheap set pieces. And in the second phase we didn’t do the basics enough. The basics aren’t done enough. It’s simple.
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