It was a fleeting mention in his first press conference but Graham Potter may have given a glimpse of what West Ham will look like under him.
Graham Potter has already succeeded where Julen Lopetegui failed in his opening address as West Ham’s new manager.
Lopetegui’s press conferences and interviews were painfully dull.
It was easy to see how the Spaniard might fail to communicate with and inspire West Ham’s players.
David Moyes was accused of being dour. But Lopetegui made him look like Aristotle with some of the banal, straight-bat answers he gave in his West Ham pressers.
Lopetegui forgot football is an entertainment business, constantly batting away playful questions.
The suffering is over now, though, on and off the pitch.
Potter can hardly be described as the most enigmatic of characters.
But already in his opening exchanges with the media, he is immeasurably more interesting and engaging.
Perhaps Lopetegui is that man when it’s in Spanish. Although a look back at how he is viewed by fans of his previous clubs suggests otherwise.
There was always going to be inevitable focus on Potter’s relationship with technical director Tim Steidten in his initial media chats.
Potter mentions one West Ham director but it’s not Steidten
Indeed Potter’s response to a blunt Steidten question is very revealing against the backdrop of claims the German could follow Lopetegui out of the West Ham exit.
One of the biggest issues West Ham fans had with Lopetegui was his lack of use of young Academy talents.
West Ham’s Academy stars won the FA Youth Cup in the summer of 2023. But you wouldn’t know it looking at the minutes played by club-trained players since.
Until very recently – when pressure arrived from fans and above to give a couple some game time – Lopetegui had given zero minutes to academy players.
But West Ham got a couple of – very fortunate results – and they were quickly ditched again.
Hammers supporters are hopeful that might now change under Potter.
The former Brighton boss is big on keeping the average age of his teams down and promoting youth.
That would certainly go down well at West Ham, the self-styled Academy of Football.
Sadly, it’s a moniker that no longer really rings true. And the result of that is a clear lack of connection between the team and the fans.
There may be good news on the way, though.
Because Potter’s plans look clear as he mentions one West Ham director by name and it’s not Steidten.
Instead Potter picked out Hammers legend turned sporting director Mark Noble for special mention.
Noble was initially appointed to that role to help oversee transfers and recruitment.
But he quickly discovered that was not for him and transitioned across to be the bridge between the first team and academy.
Noble is arguably one of the most important people at West Ham.
Potter looking forward to working with Noble at West Ham
But if he can’t admit it publicly, privately he will have been angry seeing the average age of West Ham’s squad rise to become the oldest in the Premier League.
All while Academy stars continue to be ignored.
That won’t be the case for much longer if Potter has his way, though.
Because he specifically picked out Noble as someone he is especially looking forward to working with at West Ham.
And it can mean only one thing – more Academy stars being given a proper chance and coaching in the first team.
Potter said the whole package appealed to him about West Ham including the board’s ambition, the current playing squad and the Academy.
But he picked out Noble as someone he’s particularly looking forward to working with.
“I looked at the squad, I looked at the Academy and this just felt right for me…” Potter said.
“It’s a combination of lots of factors (that made West Ham feel right).
“As I said it was the board’s ambition, the board’s trust and belief in me, it was looking at the playing squad, the Academy, the work that Mark Noble does behind the scenes in there.”
That is exactly what West Ham fans will want to here.
Noble’s work is largely going unnoticed because of the lack of integration of young players into the first team.
It sounds very much like that will change now Potter is in charge.
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