West Ham 'won't panic' as Potter gets backing

West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady says the club "won't panic" and manager Graham Potter will be given time to turn things around following a disappointing defeat by Sunderland in their Premier League opener.

The Hammers were beaten 3-0 by the promoted Black Cats at the Stadium of Light on Saturday - a continuation of their patchy form under Potter since his appointment in January.

The former Brighton and Chelsea boss has won five, drawn five and lost 10 of his 20 matches in charge since replacing Julen Lopetegui.

Some angry fans called for Potter to be sacked amid fears of a relegation battle this season.

But Brady said the 50-year-old would be backed, telling Talksport: "Graham is a forward-thinking manager. He's sort of calm under pressure, he's very detailed in his approach, he's a great man-manager of players.

"He builds a special relationship with players and they understand where he's coming from.

"He has a modern mindset and all of those things mean it does take some time to put a team together, to get the team playing the way that you want.

"West Ham is not a club that panics about its managers. We tend to stick with them, tend to support people, stick with them and see it through.

"I really hope he does well. He's a pleasure to work with, he's incredibly professional.

"I know his relationship with the players is good. I know he'll be sitting down with them today to have a long, hard think about what went wrong yesterday, expecting a reaction and expecting to put it right."

Potter gave full debuts to Senegal full-back El Hadji Malick Diouf, a £19m signing from Slavia Prague, and Denmark goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, who joined for £20m from Leicester.

Striker Callum Wilson also made his debut as a substitute following his arrival from Newcastle, while another free transfer, Kyle Walker-Peters, remained on the bench.

West Ham have yet to bring in a direct replacement for Ghana midfielder Mohammed Kudus, who joined Tottenham for £55m.

They performed well in the first half and went close through Jarrod Bowen and Diouf, but faded badly after Eliezer Mayenda's 61st-minute opener, conceding twice more in the final 17 minutes.

"I wish yesterday could start all over again," added Brady. "It's so tough to take. It's never easy for the supporters, the players, or the manager to lose 3-0, particularly in the opening game of the season.

"I spent a lot of time with the manager and the squad in America on the pre-season tour. The spirit among them is fantastic. I know that they'll be more disappointed, that they'll be the most disappointed people this morning.

"I know we'll see a reaction and I know they want to turn it around and they'll want to turn it around quickly."

'They folded like a pack of cards'

Former Premier League striker Alan Shearer was critical of West Ham's performance on Match of the Day, particularity their reaction to going 1-0 down.

"I would be [concerned if I was a West Ham fan], that is Graham Potter's biggest defeat as West Ham manager," he said.

"They haven't replaced Kudus, two new players in the starting line-up, Callum Wilson came on, but Bowen was their main threat, particularly in the first half.

"The second half would be the one to worry about because once they conceded that first goal, they just folded like a pack of cards.

"There was no spark, no energy and there certainly was no reaction at all. That would be the worrying thing already."