West Ham United manager Graham Potter is out to prove he’s up to the task as he visits his old stomping ground on the back of a six-game winless streak.
The Hammers travel to the Amex Stadium for Saturday’s Premier League showdown against Brighton & Hove Albion, where Potter spent three years developing his craft.
At the time, he was considered one of the finest managers in the league, but a lot can happen in three years.
After an ill-fated spell at Chelsea, Potter took some time off to clear his head, but his return to the dugout so far has been far from transformative.
Potter was supposed to be an upgrade on Julen Lopetegui, whose lethargic brand of football left the Hammers flirting with the drop zone.
But his return to management has gone incredibly off-script.
The Englishman has won just three of his 13 games in charge – not what the club had in mind when they asked him to stem the bleeding.
Heading to Brighton with a six-match winless streak, Potter admitted in his pre-match press conference that the results haven’t been ideal.
However, he has called on the fans to “understand the situation”. Over the past six games, the Hammers have alternated between a defeat and a draw.
After last weekend’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Southampton, superstitious West Ham fans will travel to the South Coast fearing the worst.
But Potter doesn’t believe it’s been all terrible. He has pointed the finger at his predecessors, claiming the previous “40 or so games” have been frustrating to watch.
By comparison, Potter believes the Hammers “have been competitive in all the games” but reckons “it isn’t so straightforward to change things significantly so quickly”.
West Ham fans will hope to see something better at Brighton. It helps that the Seagulls are going through a rough patch of their own and without a win in five games.
But in a battle between two struggling sides, it mostly comes down to who wants it more.
If West Ham can’t get through a relegated side unscathed, then the fans have every right to be worried about their chances.