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Graham Potter has opened up on his 'incredibly disappointing' West Ham sacking.
Hours after the Hammers axed the manager ahead of Monday's clash with Everton and opted to replace him with Nuno Espirito Santo, the 50-year-old Englishman responded with a public response.
In a statement released through the LMA, Potter said: 'I am incredibly disappointed to be leaving West Ham United Football Club, particularly without being able to achieve what we set out to achieve at the start of our journey in East London.
'I do however fully acknowledge that the results have just not been good enough up to now.
'Firstly, thank you to the board for offering me the opportunity to manage the team during the past 8 months.
'It was an honour and a privilege to manage such a historic club, which holds such strong values for footballing traditions and passion for the game.
Graham Potter admitted that results at West Ham have not been good enough
'I'd like to thank all the staff at the club who made me feel so welcome, the playing squad and their continued efforts during my time - and lastly the fans, who have been so supportive during what has been a difficult journey at times.
'I wish the club nothing but the best of luck for the future. Thank you and goodbye for now. Come on you irons. GP X.'
Potter becomes the second managerial casualty of the new Premier League season - succeeded by the man who was given the boot first by Nottingham Forest.
The 50-year-old lasted only 25 games at the helm having come in to replace Julen Lopetegui in January this year and leaves with the club languishing down in 19th in the table.
The Hammers managed just three wins in their last 15 Premier League games under the Englishman in a dire run dating back to the end of last season and the 2-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace last weekend was his final match in charge.
West Ham's only victory this season came against Forest, beating their new manager's old side 3-0 in what proved to be his last game at the City Ground.
'West Ham United can confirm that Head Coach Graham Potter has left the Club,' an official statement read.
'Results and performances over the course of the second half of last season and the start of the 2025/26 season have not matched expectations, and the Board of Directors believe that a change is necessary in order to help improve the team’s position in the Premier League as soon as possible.
Potter's side were languishing in 19th in the table when the axe fell on him
'The Club can confirm that Assistant Coach Bruno Saltor, First Team Coaches Billy Reid and Narcis Pelach, Lead Goalkeeper Coach Casper Ankergren, and Goalkeeper Coach Linus Kandolin have also left with immediate effect.
'The Board would like to thank Graham and his coaching staff for their hard work during their time with the Hammers and wish them every success for the future.'
West Ham had only won once this season under Potter after being walloped 3-0 away at newly-promoted Sunderland to set the tone on opening day.
That was followed by a 5-1 home hammering by Chelsea and EFL Cup exit at the hands of Wolves before the momentary optimism of the win at Forest was snuffed out by Tottenham and Crystal Palace winning at London Stadium.
Potter has now been sacked in less than a year from his previous two jobs - lasting seven months at Chelsea following his impressive spell at Brighton.
On Friday in his final press conference, Potter had spoken about the pressure he was under and admitted results were not good enough, although he also claimed to have held 'positive talks' with club bosses.
He said: 'It doesn’t affect me. I don’t listen to that. It’s your job, and other people’s jobs, to create speculation and it’s part of the noise of the Premier League; it’s what you sign up for.'
'So if results aren’t good, which they haven’t been and no one is shying away from that, the results aren’t what we want, then there’s always speculation.
'There’s always noise, there’s always negativity, and there’s nothing to complain about from my perspective.'
Regarding talks about his future with the hierarchy at the club, Potter added: 'We’ve had positive talks but we all understand where we are at and we want to improve.
'As I said before, no one is happy with where we are at, but at the same time you have to look at the context and the situation and not get caught up in the noise.'
He also responded to internet mockery, with a trend of putting his face on various celebrities and images going viral.
Potter remarked: 'It made my 15-year-old son laugh a lot so, as I said, you have to accept what comes with it. It comes with criticism, it comes with ridicule but that's just the environment we're in and it is what it is.'
Potter was appointed with the intention of bringing a more progressive style of play to West Ham.
But the move to appoint Espirito Santo suggests a shift back to the pragmatic after his conservative approach worked so successfully at Forest last season.
The Hammers face a testing first couple of games under their new manager, away at Goodison Park before visiting title-chasing Arsenal at the Emirates.
