Graham Potter fits in with modern east London culture and can create togetherness at West Ham, says Karren Brady

IN ALL MY years in football, taking the decision to part company with a manager has never been an easy, straightforward, or enjoyable task.

Regardless of the fact that it is an unavoidable, familiar part of the game, or that it is a call made purely for sporting reasons, there remains a sense of sadness and disappointment, on a human level, that things haven’t worked out as you had hoped.

At West Ham United, we have always taken as much care and pride in recruiting the ‘man’ as we have in recruiting the ‘manager’.

And so we were disappointed that things didn’t work out with Julen Lopetegui.

A good man, a family man, an extremely hard-working man, who was a pleasure to deal with and wanted to be successful here as much as we wanted him to be. 

We wish Julen and his staff, who worked so well with our team on and off the pitch, all the very best in their future endeavours.

Ultimately though, we have an ambitious project at this football club, and we have a responsibility to our loyal and passionate supporters to do all we can to keep that on track.

In Graham Potter, we have recruited another very good man, a hugely respected elite Premier League coach, and someone who was the unanimous choice of our Board to steer our project back in the right direction.

From our early conversations with Graham, we felt the overwhelming sense that he is the right fit for West Ham United, as are we for him.

As Graham himself has said, since leaving Chelsea 20 months ago, he has been waiting for and carefully considering the right opportunity, seeking the challenge and project that would re-ignite the feeling of excitement and anticipation that would inspire his return to top-flight management.

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We are delighted that, despite being highly sought-after by some of the biggest clubs in Europe, he has discovered that feeling with West Ham United.

Graham understands and shares our principles – that hard work, togetherness and commitment breeds progress and success.

He was attracted by our ambitious project and the steps we are taking to reach our objectives.

And he has found common ground with the core values that our supporters and the people of east London hold dear – a family culture, a sense of belonging to a clear identity, and a dedication to hard graft and craft.

Modern east London is a thriving, exciting hub of innovation combined with tradition.

A creative centre of opportunity and chance, especially for young people.

Graham has already spoken with Mark Noble about his desire to engage with and maximise the talent of our world-renowned Academy – something that is embedded so deeply into the fabric and soul of our club.

As Graham has shown throughout his successful coaching career so far, he is adept at building on strong foundations and creating a culture of togetherness, spirit and trust so that, regardless of the outcome of a single 90-minute football match, everyone connected with the club feels a part of something bigger and more significant.

Of belonging to an identity that continuously fosters pride, honour and belief.  

We believe that the right foundations are in place for further success in the future at West Ham United.

It is only 18 months ago that we enjoyed European glory and, while that night in Prague will never be forgotten, there is a genuine and fierce hunger at this club to ensure that we continue to work as hard as possible to build and create more outstanding memories.

Graham Potter shares that ambition.

That is why we didn’t hesitate to hand him a two-and-a-half-year contract, and that is why we firmly believe we have appointed not only a good man, but the right man for West Ham United.