It was only January when Graham Potter strode out for his unveiling at the London Stadium in his new club tracksuit and declared that becoming West Ham’s new manager was like ‘Christmas for adults’.
Potter spoke that morning with the excitement of a boy ready to find a bright, shiny bicycle under the tree. His exasperation after West Ham’s defeat at Brighton last weekend told of a man who has since discovered that beneath the wrapping lay a lump of coal and an orange in a sock.
Deep down, though, the former Brighton and Chelsea manager always knew he would have a job on his hands.