During the first 10 days, Graham Potter could not even go home. As chaotic was life as the new West Ham manager that Potter lived outside his hotel room in Stratford, around the corner of the London Stadium, and barely used more than his club trackcut.
A frantic presentation after the dismissal of Julen Lopetegui, three games and a handful of training sessions, every first and a half weeks of old Chelsea and Brighton Boss at work.
Finally, after the defeat of Hammers at home to Crystal Palace on January 18, he returned to Brighton. Even when he returned with his wife Rachel and his three children, he still spent six hours a day on the phone. It is the January transfer window, after all.
“It was not Sunday's dinner with a glass of wine looking at Eastenders,” it was how Potter expressed it.
Finally, things have begun to settle. Not completely, of course, because this is West Ham and one day they have left to sign the players, while the transfer manager Tim Steidten is leaving the club and has revoked his access to his systems.
But Potter has now had the time to obtain, to use his phrase, 'under the hood' of his squad and put his boat to work. West Ham is enjoying a softer trip for that.
Graham Potter lived outside a hotel room during the first 10 days of its managerial possession of West Ham
After a frantic presentation, Potter had three games and a handful of training sessions, every first and a half weeks of Chelsea and Brighton chief at work.
His first full week in the training field led to an impressive draw in Aston Villa, a game that they should really have won, where they looked like a transformed team when Potter now returns to Chelsea for the first time as a manager since his dismissal of almost two years ago that.
Mail Sport has spoken with numerous sources within West Ham and all talked about how Potter's methods, both in the training field and at their base in Rush Green, have made the club begin to feel united again.
“It seems that the club is pulling in the same direction,” a source told Mail Sport. “It has been a positive change, it is a better place for it,” said another.
Those close to Potter insist that he has not done anything too dramatic. He has simply kept it simple, maintained his clear message and tried not to overload his players with information packages.
His first training session was extended for 90 minutes, a quarter of an hour more than he usually had under the predecessor Julen Lopetegui. He focused on pressing, establishing pieces and opposition threats.
Potter took his side of the West Ham to Aston Villa in the FA Cup one day, and a session, after his appointment. They lost, but within the first minutes you could see a set of players trying to promulgate a tactical plan.
That has been one of the key differences for life under Lopetegui. Players talk about an influx of 'new ideas'. The sessions are much more varied, much more tactical, with Potter elaborating specific plans to deal with the strengths and weaknesses and individual systems of their opponents.
It shows its players many video clips and then takes those scenarios to the training field to work on their plans. Against Palace, he worked with his squad to play in a three butt to reflect his system.
Potter took his side to Aston Villa in the FA Cup one day, and a session, after his appointment.
They lost, but within the first minutes you could see a set of players trying to promulgate a tactical plan, something that was missing during the time by Julen Lopetegui
However, the greatest change of all is how Potter communicates. Not long after taking charge, Potter maintained a clear talk of the air with his squad to get his views about what was going wrong.
He often has individual conversations with his players, making clear where they fit their plans and where they want them to improve. Some players say they have already had three of those meetings.
The players feel that they know, finally, what they are asked. They feel part of something.
Few have benefited as much as Lucas packet. The creator of Brazilian games had gone from the winner of the game under Moyes to a close responsibility under Lopetegui, but has already been a key figure under Potter again.
Potter has played Pacqueta as an improvised front center instead of using the only club in the shape of the club, Danny Inings, and has already returned two goals for his new manager.
Behind the scene, Potter has made a point of telling the packet how important he sees. He is making him feel desired.
Other sources say that there has been more communication and exchange of ideas between departments. The academy staff has immediately submitted to the members of the Potter's back room when they visit Rush Green, something that they say would not have happened under previous regimes. Those at the base of the Chadwell Heath Academy already feel more of everything.
One of the biggest problems that West Ham faces before the arrival of Potter was the lack of academy products. This is a club that won the FA Youth Cup two years ago, but fought under Moyes and Lopetegui for their stars to have a chance.
Behind the scene, Potter has made a point of telling Lucas packet how important he sees him
It is something that Potter has made a point of trying to fix. “The academy has to be central to what we are doing here,” he said.
Until now, he is being faithful to his word. He has moved to the Oliver Scarles academy to the costume of the first team to join his defender Kaelan Casey. He gave Lewis Orford his debut in the first team.
For the first time in a long time, there is an air of union and positivity in the place. There will be one even bigger if Potter can return to Stamford Bridge on Monday night and get a result.
Potter insists that he does not need closure, although privately he will enjoy the opportunity to demonstrate his value against the club that fired him after less than seven months.
That experience was brutal and led Potter to take more than 20 months before accepting another work in the administration.
He needed time to clear his head, find out what he had done wrong, what was out of his control: the club spent £ 300 million in the January transfer window and with so many players that some needed to sit on the floor, for example – and for Remember himself that he was a Premier League manager in his heart.
Potter gave a leadership talk with the British troops in Las Malvinas and met with Rugby coach of England Steve Borthwick. He enjoyed a Taylor Swift concert, spent a lot of time in the gym and learned Spanish.
He has returned renewed and already putting his seal in West Ham in the same way he could in Brighton, but he could never in Chelsea.
Potter was fired by Chelsea after less than seven months in April 2023
Potter is meeting with Evan Ferguson, to whom he gave his debut in Brighton, in West Ham
To make Monday night even more interesting, Potter has to juggle with an emotional return to the site of his most difficult management period with the closure of the transfer window.
West Ham obtained his main objective on Sunday, signing Brighton Evan Ferguson striker, whom Potter gave his debut in Las Gaviotas, the main objective.
Potter would prefer not to do anything in the window to splash the cash of the players for good. West Ham has done it many times in recent years and Potter has seen firsthand in Chelsea the damage he can do.
“It is important not to take what happened in Chelsea two years ago in January as how we should act here, because we are a different context in a different club,” Potter said.
“I remember talking to someone for years about recruitment and even if you bring a player, the dynamics change because current players think” well, how does that affect me? “What does that do to everyone and how does it work?
'It is a team sport, football, so it is important how people interact with each other and communicate with each other. Sometimes we focus on people to solve problems, but, in reality, the team is the base.
And when doing exactly that, it seems that Potter is on his way to help West Ham solve his.