West Ham United have announced the appointment of Graham Potter as their new head coach.
The 49-year-old former Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea head coach returns to the Premier League after a 21-month absence.
He has agreed a two-and-a-half year contract and replaces Julen Lopetegui, who was dismissed by West Ham on Wednesday after just 20 matches in charge.
'I waited for a job right for me'
Speaking to the club's official website, Potter said: “It was important to me that I waited until a job came along that I felt was right for me, and equally that I was the right fit for the club I am joining. That is the feeling I have with West Ham United.
“My conversations with the chairman and the board have been very positive and constructive, we share the same values of hard work and high energy to create the solid foundations that can produce success, and we are on the same wavelength in terms of what is needed in the short-term and then how we want to move the club forward in the medium to long term."
Potter will be joined at West Ham by Bruno (assistant coach), Billy Reid (first-team coach) and Narcis Pelach (first-team coach). Goalkeeper coach Xavi Valero will stay on in his role.
Potter's career so far
Potter had a 13-year playing career, mostly spent in the Football League as a full-back with clubs including Birmingham City, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion.
He made eight Premier League appearances for Southampton in 1996/97, playing in a famous 6-3 win over Manchester United.
After finishing his playing career in 2005 Potter became a football development manager at Hull University, with a spell on secondment as the technical director of Ghana’s women’s team at the 2007 World Cup.
In April 2008 he was appointed the assistant coach for the England Universities Squad, and he then had a period with Leeds University.
Potter’s first senior managerial appointment came in December 2010 at Swedish fourth-tier side Ostersunds, leading them to successive promotions in 2011 and 2012 and then, in October 2015, taking the club into the top flight for the first time in their history.
Eighteen months later Potter’s side won the Swedish Cup and earned a place in the Europa League, where they reached the last 32, bowing out to Arsenal.
In June 2018 Potter returned to the UK to take charge of Swansea City, who had just been relegated from the Premier League.
He led them to a 10th-place finish in the Championship while reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, where his side lost 3-2 to Manchester City.
That earned him a move to Brighton in May 2019 where, getting the team to play in a more expansive fashion, he led them to a 15th-placed finish, a joint-high with their highest points total (41) and highest goals total (39) in their three Premier League seasons.
After a 2020/21 season of similar results, things began to click in 2021/22 when Brighton finished ninth.
He oversaw Brighton's best start to a Premier League season in 2022/23, with 13 points from the opening six matches before Chelsea came calling.
However, the club decided to relieve him of his duties after 11 defeats in 31 matches had led to Chelsea sitting in 11th place.
Potter's first match
Potter's first match in charge will be Friday's trip to Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round.
His first Premier League match with West Ham will be a London derby on Tuesday 14 January at home to Fulham. West Ham go into that match 14th in the table, seven points above the relegation zone.
