Graham Potter has worst record of any West Ham manager - is he under pressure?

Reunion with Chelsea on Friday 

The excitement of the new Premier League season returning didn't last long for West Ham fans. It's been a fairly quiet transfer window for the East London club, with the free transfer of Callum Wilson their only attacking signing to date. But pitted against newly-promoted Sunderland, there was hope that the Hammers could get off to a winning start. Fast forward 90 minutes, and the Hammers faithful were already tearing their hair out from the terraces. Graham Potter's team were beaten 3-0 by the Black Cats, and it already cranks up the pressure on the Englishman in the dugout.

Potter was appointed last January, and whilst he helped West Ham avoid the drop, it was hardly inspiring stuff at the London Stadium. West Ham won just six of his 19 Premier League matches in charge last term. Nevertheless, it was too early to truly judge his reign at the club, and this season, Potter will be held more accountable for both results and performances. Following the defeat to Sunderland, Potter now holds the unwanted record of the club's worst ever manager based on points per game (PPG) in all competitions from statistics recorded on Transfermarkt.

Graham Potter has worst ppg record of any West Ham manager

Firstly, it must be mentioned that it is still a very small sample size under Potter - he has only been in the dugout for 20 West Ham matches. However, from those games, he has a PPG record of just 1.00. Not only is that the lowest in the Premier League era from any Hammers boss, but it's also the lowest PPG record of any West Ham boss that is recorded in Transfermarkt's historic data. Potter's predecessor Julen Lopetegui was pretty much hounded out of the London Stadium and his tenure in East London is considered somewhat of a disaster, yet he still boasted a PPG record of 1.18 - better than Potter's.

Illustrated in the graphic above, it can be identified how Potter's record compares to the other worst West Ham managers (based on PPG) in the Premier League era, and it makes for a tough indictment on the Englishman. When we think back to this West Ham squad being Europa Conference League champions just two years ago, and consistently playing European football under David Moyes' stewardship, it's been a real fall from grace. Potter can only take a small percentage of the blame for that, and should be given more time to prove himself, but an ageing squad could prove to be his kryptonite.

Ageing squad needs to be addressed

Last season, West Ham's squad had the highest average age in the entire Premier League at 28.0 years old. Following this summer's dealings they have dropped slightly to 27.0 years old, but still rank as the fourth oldest in the division. In much of the Hammers pre-season exploits Potter fielded youngster Freddie Potts, who had been on loan at Portsmouth last season, as one of their two central midfielders. Many fans expected that his energy could be key in Potter's system. However, against Sunderland Potter opted to play James Ward-Prowse, 30, and Guido Rodríguez, 31, and the lack of legs and youthfulness in the West Ham midfield was there for all to see.

The club has brought in 20-year-old left-wing-back El Hadji Malick Diouf this summer, and his energy could be integral, while the Hammers also have some exciting youngsters coming through such as Oliver Scarles. But right now, the squad still feels slightly stale, and some more investment in youth could be needed to avoid this being another tough season for West Ham. Last season, they accumulated just 43 points, and only avoided being in a proper relegation battle due to how poor the three promoted teams were. This term, they might not be so lucky. Improvements needed on and off the pitch for the Hammers.