'That's not much of a leader': Simon Jordan names the manager West Ham simply must not hire

If there is one positive West Ham United fans can take from that 3-1 defeat at Leicester City, it’s that the Premier League strugglers have some pretty impressive managers lined up to replace Julen Lopetegui.

TBR understands that Julen Lopetegui is on the brink at West Ham.

Another defensive capitulation, just days after The Hammers conceded five in the first half against Arsenal, saw Leicester cut the gap between the two sides to just two points on a victorious first night in charge for Ruud van Nistelrooy.

And, with a host of talented tacticians currently out of work, the feeling among many supporters is that West Ham would be better served cutting ties with Lopetegui now while the likes of Roger Schmidt, Edin Terzic and particularly Sergio Conceicao are still available.

TBR have been told that West Ham have discussed Schmidt and Terzic, the former a one-time assistant to Slaven Bilic and the man who led Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final.

Conceicao, meanwhile, is perhaps the most attractive of any of the managers on the market. And it just so happens that the West Ham job appeals to Conceicao, the former Portugal international who led FC Porto to 11 trophies in seven years before departing over the summer.

Simon Jordan urges West Ham United not to hire Graham Potter

Now, during talkSPORT’s post-match autopsy of that King Power collapse, Simon Jordan did have some sympathy for the luckless Lopetegui.

As Van Nistelrooy hailed the heroic Mads Hermansen in Leicester’s goal, West Ham had only a Niclas Fullkrug consolation to show for their 30 attempts throughout the 90-plus minutes.

“Looking at the performance, while the structure doesn’t look right, you would struggle to work out how West Ham lost 3-1,” Jordan argues.

Ironically enough, one of the men frequently linked with the London Stadium hotseat had a ringside view of West Ham’s seventh defeat in 14 league games under Lopetegui.

Jordan has serious reservations about Graham Potter’s suitability for the role, however, with that disastrous six-month spell in charge of London rivals Chelsea creating a reputation that is proving difficult to shift.

“I think Potter’s a flake. Sorry, I know it’s not a particularly positive thing to say, but I do,” adds Jordan, the Crystal Palace chairman until 2010. “And so, if they think that Potter is the answer, that would be an interesting outcome.

“I think his tenure, the manner in which he conducted himself at Chelsea was weak and lightweight. And I thought to myself; ‘That’s not much of a leader’.

“It’s an individual takeaway, and it might be wrong…”

Potter rejected Leicester City before Ruud van Nistelrooy hire

Potter has not worked since leaving Chelsea under a cloud in April 2023.

The remarkable work he did at Brighton and Hove Albion – laying foundations which have since been built upon by Roberto de Zerbi and Fabian Hurzeler – shows what Potter is capable of with a supportive fanbase, a coherent structure, and a recruitment team capable of delivering far more hits than misses.

Can West Ham – many of their summer signings struggling to live up to expectations – really claim to tick all three of those boxes?

Interestingly, TBR understands that Graham Potter turned down the Leicester City job before Van Nistelrooy was chosen to take over from Steve Cooper.