Graham Potter said he’d rather furious front man Niclas Fullkrug have aired his frustrations in private after the West Ham front man blasted the club’s ‘mentality problems’ in front of the television cameras.
German striker Fullkrug delivered an incredible post-match rant following West Ham’s draw against bottom side Southampton, describing the performance as ‘s***’ and accused his team-mates of not having the ‘motivation’ to push up to stop Saints pushing for an equaliser.
‘He wears his heart on his sleeve,’ said Potter. ‘I would disagree with him in some things and agree with him in others but he’s entitled to his opinion.
‘As a senior player, we’ve had lots of honest conversations. And I think for me it’s better to have the conversations in private, not in public.
‘You need to be honest. You need to be able to say what you think. That’s for sure and then you have to think about the team as well.
‘Players are emotional, they’re human beings. How boring would it be if players couldn’t speak after a game? How boring would that be? I don’t want that.
Fullkrug delivered an incredible post-match rant following West Ham’s draw with Southampton
Graham Potter said he’d rather front man Niclas Fullkrug have aired his frustrations in private
West Ham sit in 17th place but remain 15 points clear of Ipswich in the relegation zone
‘At the same time we all have a responsibility to the club and the team and we have to try and manage the both. I don’t want robots, I don’t want people not saying anything. It’s good because it means you can coach a problem and that’s football.
‘But at the same time, we also have a responsibility to the team and the club. From my perspective, sometimes I could be honest, how I really feel. But I don’t think it’s helpful to the players. I don’t think it’s helpful to the club. So, we all have to be aware of our responsibilities as well.
‘My reflection from when I played was, especially on the pitch, you think you’ve got a picture of what’s happened, but you can’t by definition see everything. You’ve got a perspective. And this is a great thing about the media, and you ask a player after the game and he’ll have his opinion, but it’ll be based on very little.
‘Of course, it’s his opinion, but in terms of what’s actually happened in the game, he won’t be able to see that, he won’t be able to analyse that, he won’t be able to have the perspective that maybe it requires to give a really in-depth answer.
‘But the reality of it is you guys aren’t bothered about that. You just want the drama. I understand that.’
The striker criticised his side, claiming they were ‘s***’ during their 1-1 draw with Southampton
Southampton’s late goal means that Potter has taken just 13 points from his first 13 league games in charge, winning just three in 14 in all competitions, as he prepares for a return to the Amex Stadium at the weekend to face Brighton.
‘When you don’t perform well, there’s lots of things that aren’t right,’ added Potter. ‘It can be that tactically we had some challenges. It could be that there’s baggage we’re carrying from the previous 50 matches with the expectation high at West Ham and having to deal with the reality of the situation. That can also play on the players’ minds. They’re only human.
‘Together, we have to find the solution. Together, we have to improve. Together, we have to give our supporters something that is better what it is now.’
