Graham Potter has dropped a West Ham squad bombshell as captain Jarrod Bowen launches a Spurs rant and it’s all long overdue.
West Ham take on fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Although the fixture has probably never meant less amidst the unacceptable seasons both the Hammers and Spurs are having, it has actually taken on real significance this week.
West Ham are a divided dressing room according to striker Niclas Fullkrug.
The German’s furious outburst after the Hammers threw away a 1-0 lead to draw with already relegated Southampton was roundly applauded by the club’s fans.
Indeed football fans of all clubs praised Fullkrug’s refreshing honesty in a game full of robots as he labelled West Ham “s—” and said half the team aren’t listening to the manager.
Many West Ham fans called for Fullkrug to be made captain after the rant, so impressed they were with someone finally telling it like it is.
Potter and Bowen now see Fullkrug was right about West Ham
Graham Potter was less impressed, angering Hammers fans by criticising and then dropping Fullkrug in the next game at Brighton.
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Spurs know all about pathetic collapses against the Seagulls having thrown away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to them earlier this season.
Sitting 17th and 16th in the Premier League, West Ham and Spurs have been as bad as one another all season.
And the Hammers emulated Tottenham’s Brighton collapse by losing 3-2 themselves after coming from behind to take 2-1 lead with six minutes left.
It marked a new low for the Hammers this season and Potter looked like a man under pressure after being booed off by West Ham and Brighton fans at the Amex.
After the game, Fullkrug warned Potter and his teammates they ‘can’t hide from the truth’.
Potter warns players his West Ham squad is too big
Potter then said it’s time to blame West Ham’s players after just 13 wins in the club’s last 53 league games under three managers dating back to January last year.
It has cemented the view in east London that big changes need to be made this summer.
And there will be no hiding place for West Ham’s players against Tottenham – the club’s biggest rivals after Millwall.
Now the underachieving Hammers have been given a long overdue wake-up call and kick up the behind.
Because Potter has dropped a West Ham squad bombshell as captain Jarrod Bowen launches into a Spurs rant.
Speaking ahead of the showdown with Spurs, Potter has made it clear he feels West Ham’s squad is far too big.
That means players are quite literally playing for their futures against Tottenham, with Potter suggesting having too many players has been part of the problem at West Ham.
David Moyes always preferred working with a smaller squad for the benefit of team spirit and morale.
It seems Potter is of the same mindset, especially with no European football to share out game time.
And after honest conversations with his squad this week, the Englishman has warned his players there is no hiding place against Tottenham, suggesting it’s ‘time to show’ after making it clear the squad is too big.
‘Time to show up’ says Potter ahead of Hammers rebuild
“I never thought it was going to be easy, it certainly isn’t easy but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s a fantastic challenge and I’m really enjoying it…” Potter told the press ahead of Spurs.
“They’re (the players) human beings as well so they’ve been low and angry… but they’ve been really good in terms of how they’ve tried to pick themselves up.
“We spoke after the (Brighton) game about being together, it was really important for us to be that – and they have been that in training.
“So credit to them because we’ve got a big squad here, lots of players, and it’s not easy to have that togetherness and they’ve done it well…
“We’ve spoken honestly and well this week and now we need to show, there’s no point me talking here too much, it’s about showing.
“We have to play against Spurs, we have to play a home game where there’s a lot of pride, we know how big the game is for our supporters, we have to show.”
Bowen breaks silence with Spurs message every West Ham fan needed to hear
With that ringing in the players’ ears, skipper Bowen has some strong words too.
Comfortably West Ham’s best and most important player, quiet Bowen has had his leadership questioned at times.
But he’s left his teammates in no doubt, they are playing to prove they deserve to be West Ham players against rivals Spurs.
“We know how disappointing our season has been and that one win over Spurs will not make up for our inconsistent performances and results, but we can only win the next game and our next game is against Spurs, so we want to win it,” Bowen says in his column for the Tottenham clash.
“If we do, we’ll not only win a local derby, but we’ll also go above them in the table.
“To be honest, we should be above them in the table now, but we’ve got to say that we have not picked up the points we should have done, particularly over the last couple of months…
“Spurs might have had a disappointing Premier League season themselves, but they’ve still got lots of very good players in their squad, and if we don’t give one hundred per cent effort and commitment and focus, they will punish us too.
“We were hurt by what happened at Brighton last weekend and we don’t want to feel that same way at full-time on Sunday…
“As captain, someone who has played here for over five years and as a member of a West Ham-supporting family, I know how frustrated you feel about the way we have performed this season. It is way below the standards we set ourselves, I can assure you.
“But talk is cheap when results are not up to scratch and the only way we can prove how much we care, and how good we are as players, is by going out there and performing and giving you something to get behind and cheer.”
Finally some home truths delivered by the two most important people in the dressing room.
It’s just a shame it’s come with four games left of an instantly forgettable season.
But a win over Spurs can give it some semblance of joy at least.