Chelsea v West Ham: Hammers boss Graham Potter has no ill feeling after Blues sack

West Ham boss Graham Potter says getting sacked by Chelsea was “maybe the best thing that happened to me”.

Potter takes the Hammers back to his old club on Monday (20:00 GMT) – his fourth Premier League game in charge since being appointed in January.

The former Brighton boss was dismissed by Chelsea in April 2023, less than seven months after replacing the sacked Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge in September 2022.

However, Potter said he had no “bad feeling” towards Chelsea and wanted to learn from the experience.

“You know in a football life you’re going to get ups and downs,” added the 49-year-old, who won 12 of his 31 games in charge of Chelsea in all competitions.

“I didn’t want to lose my job. But at the same time I look back now and maybe it’s the best thing that happened to me.

“Maybe the next 10-20 years is going to be great because of the experience I’ve had.

“I just look at it as a learning experience. I’ve got no bad feelings towards Chelsea, I’ve still got a lot of good relationships with the people there.

“But I’m just looking forward to the journey I’m on now with West Ham at this great club and getting that connection with the supporters, working with the team and building something that we’re really excited about and proud about here.”