We are only four games into the Premier League season, but West Ham’s match against Crystal Palace on Saturday could be a crucial one for Graham Potter.
Derby defeats to Chelsea and Tottenham will never go down well in east London, especially at home, but they will be accepted if the supporters see their team in the game.
Once Chelsea went 2-1 up, and after the second-half whistle went against Tottenham, West Ham collapsed. The 3-0 loss to newly-promoted Sunderland was the same after the first goal was conceded.
There’s no suggestion, at the moment, that this is a must-win game for Potter. But a similar defeat to Crystal Palace at the London Stadium on Saturday will be hard for him to come back from. The pressure is building.
West Ham’s next two opponents, Palace and Everton, are painful examples for their fans of what they had, and what they could’ve had.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from West Ham’s Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
The Eagles still play in their sacred home of Selhurst Park, with fans on top of the pitch just like at the old Boleyn Ground, and they were specifically mentioned in the recent Fan Advisory Board letter to the club as a team looked at with envy.
And Everton have gone the other way, moving to a purpose-built football stadium, where fans already seem at home.
Potter can’t change the stadium that West Ham play in, but he is the one responsible for how they play there. He needs at least a performance against Palace.
West Ham do not like sacking managers. And vice-chair Baroness Karen Brady has publicly backed Potter.
The manager will look to the 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest and see a similar level of opposition in Palace and Everton, where results could turn the noise down.
But currently, West Ham are ranking 19th on recoveries made and have conceded the most goals from set pieces in the Premier League, with all six arriving from corners.
Fans don’t need the numbers to tell you these are areas West Ham need to improve.
For Potter, since he arrived, it’s eleven home games in the league, two wins. Eleven away games in the league, four wins.
Now is the time to turn things around.
