Graham Potter instantly made history on Friday night despite losing his first game as West Ham manager against Aston Villa.
The former Brighton and Chelsea boss took charge of the Hammers for the first time at Villa Park following his appointment as Julen Lopetegui’s successor this week.
Potter had been out of work since his departure from Chelsea almost two years ago and had been courted by a host of clubs in the Premier League and across Europe.
It was believed that Potter was holding out for the England job but that idea was ruled out when Thomas Tuchel – ironically the man he replaced at Stamford Bridge – was handed the reins by the FA.
West Ham’s abject season called for the early departure of former Real Madrid head coach Lopetegui who left on Monday with the club in 14th place and on a run of two wins in eight games.
Potter had little time to prepare his side for Friday’s FA Cup tie having only been appointed on Thursday.
He was quickly thrust into the limelight and made club history in the process.
That’s because he became the first West Ham United manager whose first game in charge is in the FA Cup.
Potter is West Ham’s 18th manager in club history with no other boss having made their bow in the world’s oldest domestic cup competition.
Unfortunately, the match didn’t go his way with Lucas Paqueta’s early goal cancelled out by Amadou Onana and Morgan Rogers’ efforts.
Speaking after the game, the new Hammers boss said: “The first half was really good.
“We scored a good goal, we were organised defensively, showed a great attitude, togetherness on the pitch, good communication, good understanding of what we’re trying to do.
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“We carried a threat and were probably a little bit unlucky not to get a second goal. Aston Villa certainly didn’t carry any threat in the first half.
“Credit to Aston Villa, they stepped up as well I think and pushed us back probably a little bit more than we’d have liked, but the boys dug in.
“We were a little bit unlucky I think, with the manner of their first goal in terms of it didn’t look like it was a corner and it’s one of those things.
“But after going behind, we still pushed and you could see the personality of the players, and you could see what they were trying to do and we had a couple of chances at the end.
“So we’re disappointed to go out, disappointed to lose, but we’ll have to carry the positives forward.”
Potter’s next task will be to turn things around in the Premier League.
West Ham were thrashed 5-0 by leaders Liverpool on December 29 before slipping to a 4-1 defeat at Manchester City last weekend.
Two London derbies in the space of a week will give Potter the opportunity to assess where his team are at.
West Ham host Fulham on Tuesday before Crystal Palace visit the London Stadium next weekend.
The games will offer him his first taste in the home dugout while providing the opportunity to pull further clear of the bottom three.
His new side are currently seven points ahead of 18th-placed Ipswich.
