2026-07-12 11:30:07
Michail Antonio feels that Graham Potter was to blame for West Ham’s relegation from the Premier League.
The Jamaica forward spent a decade with the Hammers before being released last year and felt that the coach’s decision to move on several experienced players resulted in the club succumbing to the drop at the end of last season.
Asked if Potter was responsible for relegation, Antonio told FourFourTwo magazine: “Definitely. He made the decision to get rid of all of the senior players. Me, Aaron Cresswell, Vladi Coufal, Edson Alvarez – he got rid of all of the players who were leaders.
“And then within a month of the season starting, he said, ‘We’ve got no leaders.’ How does that even make any sense? How can you get rid of all the leaders, then go, ‘We have no leaders in the changing room.’ It was your doing!”
However, Antonio has fonder memories of working under David Moyes during the Scottish coach’s two stints with the Hammers.
He said of Moyes: “He just knew the culture of the club and how to get the boys going. We didn’t play the best football, but we got results.
“Obviously the fans were frustrated by the style of play, but we were winning and managed to achieve things with it. That’s why I was surprised he didn’t get the job permanently after his first spell, because he kept us up.
“Then the second time, the fans did get annoyed with the style of play and wanted us to play better.”
Antonio revealed that several of the players felt that West Ham were taking a risk when they opted to replace Moyes in 2024.
He said: “Yeah, because of what he was achieving. We kept getting into Europe and doing well. But in the last year, we were getting close to relegation, so you thought, ‘Even though we’re doing well in Europe, we might need to find a new philosophy.'”
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