West Ham should have already followed Brighton blueprint as Graham Potter sack talk intensifies
West Ham United have been told they should have already copied Brighton’s strategy as Graham Potter’s departure closes in.
Potter looks to be on borrowed time at West Ham, with tensions boiling over at the London Stadium in recent weeks due to poor performances and results.
The East London side sit 19th in the Premier League after five games, and are under real threat of battling relegation.
Nuno Espirito Santo is the current favourite to take over from Potter, with the likes of Slaven Bilic and Gary O’Neil also on the shortlist.
West Ham should have found Graham Potter replacement months ago
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that West Ham should’ve found Potter’s replacement months ago.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that the Hammers have to be looking for potential new managers 24-7, as that is what the likes of Brighton do, in order to have a shortlist ready when needed.
Back in 2022, Potter left the Seagulls to join Chelsea and the South Coast side brought in Roberto De Zerbi with minimal disruption.
Wyness added that it is evident West Ham haven’t been preparing for the worst, which has left them scrambling.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “I saw the photographs of Nuno down in Essex, in a little village called Theydon Bois, which is where Sullivan’s house has been. I’ve been in there to meet him on occasions.
“You start to put two and two together, and you definitely make five with Nuno out there. Then there was the story planted about Slaven Bilic coming back. All these sorts of things do point to the fact that they’re making inquiries.
“Now, it should really be no surprise, because clubs should be doing this all the time. You know, even when you’re at your best and you’re having a great run of results, that’s when you should be looking at the next manager.
“It should be 24-7, that’s what the chief executive should be there doing, making sure he has backup in every single area of the club.
“That’s what Brighton have been superb at in being able to capitalise on situations. But also when things don’t go right or people poach their staff, they’ve already done the work, and they know who they’re going to pick up the next time.
“So West Ham shouldn’t just be doing it now. They should have been doing it for months, and they should know who is there. That’s what they haven’t been doing, from what we can see.”
Nuno Espirito Santo to replace Potter after international break
On Wednesday (24 September), Football Insider exclusively revealed that Potter would get a stay of execution at West Ham until after the international break.
Sources say that the 50-year-old dismissal has been put on pause after the Hammers’ talks with Espirito Santo hit a stumbling block.
Nottingham Forest sacked Nuno earlier this month, and the Portuguese manager still has some legal issues to sort out regarding his City Ground exit before he can be given the West Ham job.
It is believed that the delay will last until after the international break, which would see Potter’s sacking pushed back until the middle of next month.
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