Graham Potter has been urged to sign a striker as Darren Bent outlined what he must do to transform West Ham’s fortunes.
The Englishman was appointed as the Irons’ new boss on Thursday after Julen Lopetegui was relieved of his duties following a disappointing start to the season.
Potter, who opened his spell at West Ham with a defeat to Aston Villa in the FA Cup, has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the Hammers, who currently sit 14th in the Premier League table.
This is the former Brighton head coach’s first managerial role since his dismissal from Chelsea in April 2023, and he certainly has his work cut out to things around at the London Stadium.
The east London outfit, who have asked to be informed of Marcus Rashford’s situation at Manchester United, sit seven points above the relegation zone, with just six league wins to their name all season.
And talkSPORT’s Bent admitted there is plenty of room for improvement, as he identified as many as seven key areas which Potter must develop to turn the tides at West Ham.
Speaking on Drive, the former Tottenham striker stated addressing West Ham’s tactics is a top priority for Potter.
He said: “The first thing I’d say he’s got to do is fix the style of play.
“I think when you look at West Ham under David Moyes, that was the one thing that the West Ham fans were talking about.”
He went on: “I just think the style of play just wasn’t good enough. Look at where they are in terms of average possession, they’re 14th. Their average is 46.7 per cent possession.”
Despite hopes that Lopetegui would introduce a more entertaining approach at the London Stadium, the Hammers have failed to kick on in this regard.
This season, they have scored just 24 goals, placing them in the bottom six of all of the Premier League teams.
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However, with Potter earning plaudits for his possession-based game whilst in charge of Brighton, Bent was optimistic that he will help to get the best out of West Ham’s players.
He continued: “Now, Potter, with him in charge, that will increase quite significantly.
“The way that he plays – front foot football, getting your attacking players to ball in the right areas.”
Next on Potter’s to-do list was bolstering their attacking options.
Winger Jarrod Bowen has shouldered the goalscoring responsibility for West Ham this season, with summer signing Niclas Fullkrug managing just two league goals all season.
And with Michail Antonio out for an extended period, Bent admitted that the Irons could do with a new focal point up front.
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He said: “I think Jarrod Bowen’s their top goalscorer with five. Then it’s [Tomas] Soucek and [Mohammed] Kudus.
“Kudus has got three goals – he is so much better than that, than three goals!”
“The reason why I say sign a top quality centre forward, I really like Niklas Fulkrug, I thought he was brilliant at the Euros for Germany. He scored a good goal in their last game.
“But he’s 31-years-old now. That’s a short-term fix. That doesn’t tell me you’re going to be a centre forward for the next five, six years.
“So I would go out and try and sign a proper centre forward.”
Among Potter’s other key focus areas were improving West Ham’s home form, and getting the best out of playmaker Lucas Paqueta.
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Stressing the importance of improving home form, Bent said: “They’ve got to make the London Stadium a fortress. Make it solid, a hard place to go.
“At the minute, they’re 15th in the home table. There’s no way you can deliver the goods or have a good season if you’re home form, you’re only 15th in the Premier League table.
“You have to be better than that. So they’ve won three games at home all season in the Premier League. That’s not good enough.”
And Bent believes Potter must get the best out of Paqueta, who scored in 2-1 defeat to Villa, if he wishes his time in the capital to be a success.
The former England striker urged: “You’ve got to re-find Paqueta’s form. I think he is a top, top quality player, but this season we haven’t seen the best of him.
“He’s got so much ability, so much quality. I think you’ve got to find the best position for him and get the best out of him. Because once he gets them playing, then they are a better team with him.”