West Ham boss Graham Potter has been speaking to the media before Saturday’s Premier League game against Southampton at London Stadium (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
- Crysencio Summerville will still be out a “few weeks yet” as it has been a “complicated” issue and will “take some time”. Aaron Wan-Bissaka has “needed an injection in his toe” but should still be available for the game.
- Potter said Michail Antonio is “progressing step by step” in his recovery following a car crash and they are continuing to “support him”. However, he added that it is “not for me to comment” on any talks over his contract and when there is anything to announce, the club will do so.
- On Niclas Fullkrug’s fitness: “He’s just been out for a long time, and with a hamstring injury it’s hard to replicate those 90 minutes of Premier League football. You have to build players up safely, but he’s getting stronger and stronger, and that is good for us.”
- On the Hammers’ home form: “It’s something we want to put right. We need to play well on Saturday, and we’ll be trying to do that. The supporters have been brilliant since we’ve been here, home and away. They’ve got behind the team, and when we haven’t been so good they have been fair on us. We understand when we haven’t been winning or performing as well as we would like then there is frustration around.”
- He added: “This is a difficult period for us, but when we come through this we are hoping it is a nice foundation to achieve something exciting here.”
- Potter does not believe they need a “a major rebuild” in the summer: “We’re not where we want to be right now. We need to improve, that is a simple thing. But, we have to make the right decisions with all the resources that we have and come together to put a team together our fans can be proud of.”
- On team spirit: “It’s really positive. The daily work has been of a high level since we’ve been here, and I’m frustrated for the players that we haven’t converted that into consistent results. But a lot of what I see is really positive. I think there’s a foundation there for us to go forward. But the players’ attitude and spirit in training has been really good – the way they have handled themselves is first class. I’ve been really impressed with them.”
- The West Ham boss is not expecting an easy game against already-relegated Southampton, insisting the south coast side will “be prepared, competitive and have quality players so we have to respect that”.
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10 minutes ago
West Ham boss Graham Potter has been speaking to the media before Saturday’s Premier League game against Southampton at London Stadium (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
-
Crysencio Summerville will still be out a “few weeks yet” as it has been a “complicated” issue and will “take some time”. Aaron Wan-Bissaka has “needed an injection in his toe” but should still be available for the game.
-
Potter said Michail Antonio is “progressing step by step” in his recovery following a car crash and they are continuing to “support him”. However, he added that it is “not for me to comment” on any talks over his contract and when there is anything to announce, the club will do so.
-
On Niclas Fullkrug’s fitness: “He’s just been out for a long time, and with a hamstring injury it’s hard to replicate those 90 minutes of Premier League football. You have to build players up safely, but he’s getting stronger and stronger, and that is good for us.”
-
On the Hammers’ home form: “It’s something we want to put right. We need to play well on Saturday, and we’ll be trying to do that. The supporters have been brilliant since we’ve been here, home and away. They’ve got behind the team, and when we haven’t been so good they have been fair on us. We understand when we haven’t been winning or performing as well as we would like then there is frustration around.”
-
He added: “This is a difficult period for us, but when we come through this we are hoping it is a nice foundation to achieve something exciting here.”
-
Potter does not believe they need a “a major rebuild” in the summer: “We’re not where we want to be right now. We need to improve, that is a simple thing. But, we have to make the right decisions with all the resources that we have and come together to put a team together our fans can be proud of.”
-
On team spirit: “It’s really positive. The daily work has been of a high level since we’ve been here, and I’m frustrated for the players that we haven’t converted that into consistent results. But a lot of what I see is really positive. I think there’s a foundation there for us to go forward. But the players’ attitude and spirit in training has been really good – the way they have handled themselves is first class. I’ve been really impressed with them.”
-
The West Ham boss is not expecting an easy game against already-relegated Southampton, insisting the south coast side will “be prepared, competitive and have quality players so we have to respect that”.
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