West Ham: Graham Potter 'disagrees' with elements of Niclas Fullkrug's astonishing X-rated outburst | OneFootball

The German lambasted his West Ham teammates following the 1-1 draw against Southampton

West Ham: Graham Potter has reacted to Niclas Fullkrug’s X-rated rant

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Graham Potter has admitted he disagrees with elements of Niclas Fullkrug’s X-rated rant after West Ham’s draw with relegated Southampton — but urged players to channel their emotion and not become “robots”.

Fullkrug fumed at the situation at West Ham, including some of his team-mates' “mindsets”, after last weekend’s 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-league Southampton. The Hammers conceded a 93rd-minute equaliser to deny them victory at the London Stadium.

The impassioned words from the German international became headline news but broadly endeared the striker to West Ham fans, many of whom agreed with his angry assessment.

“It was difficult to bring the boys back to push up. We didn’t push up anymore. We tried but we didn’t have the ability or the motivation to push up again.

“I’m very, very angry that we played like this because we had some moments where we showed what we can do.

“But the motivation was so s*** after and I’m very angry.”

Potter was asked whether he felt Fullkrug’s choice words had been misguided.

“I think sometimes you have to understand that after a game, everyone's emotional. It should be that way,” Potter said.

“Because football is about emotion. It can be that tactically we had some challenges. It could be that there's a baggage that 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 now can also play on the players' minds. They're only human. I accept that he's emotional at the end of the game.

“I think he wears his heart on his sleeve. I would disagree with him in some things and agree with him in others. But he's entitled to his opinion. And 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.

“How boring would it be if players couldn't speak after a game? How boring would that be? I don't want that.

“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. What Niclas said is not helpful or unhelpful. He said it, no problem. And we have to then deal with it.”

Potter swerved the question of whether he has told Fullkrug off for his outburst.

“I'd rather speak to players. And whatever conversations I have with players remains private. My job is always to help the players. Help them on the pitch, help them off the pitch. But the intentions are really good.”