rewrite this title West Ham boss Graham Potter refuses to be drawn on Marcus Rashford speculation

New West Ham boss Graham Potter distanced himself from speculation he wants to sign Marcus Rashford from Manchester United.

Potter was appointed as Julen Lopetegui’s successor on Thursday and was in the dugout to watch his side lose their FA Cup third-round tie 2-1 at Aston Villa on Friday night.

Following his appointment at the London Stadium, the Hammers have been linked with wantaway Red Devils forward Rashford in the January transfer window but Potter remained tight-lipped.

“Well, I used to say this 20-odd months ago, I only comment on players that are West Ham players,” the 49-year-old, who had to deal with constant transfer speculation at previous club Chelsea, said.

“And all the speculation, I know from my own experience, sometimes things that are written in the newspapers aren’t exactly true, and you can get yourself in all sorts of knots, confirming or denying everything.

“So it’s best to just speak about players that are West Ham players.”

Potter looked like he would bring instant success in his new role as Lucas Paqueta fired West Ham into an early lead at Villa Park.

But Villa, who were celebrating their 150th anniversary, overcame a woeful first hour with goals from Andre Onana and Morgan Rogers in the space of five second-half minutes earning just their second FA Cup win in nine years.

But Potter was encouraged with what he saw from his new side.

“Our performance gave me a lot of encouragement, the way the players tried to do what we asked them to do was encouraging so that was good,” he said.

“I am just disappointed now because we are out and I wanted to go through.

“Everything we spoke about we saw the players trying to do. There was a lot to be pleased about in the first half.

“And credit to the players after going behind, they kept going and had a couple of chances at the end that could have maybe got the equaliser.”

On a night of celebration for Villa, where seven trophy triumphs in the famous cup competition were remembered, boss Unai Emery wants to bring modern-day success to the club.

“We were trying to play for this anniversary of 150 years, with the supporters trying to share with them in this moment,” the Spaniard said.

“This club won the competition seven times, a long time ago, we have to be proud of our past but be protagonist in the present and the future. This competition is important for the supporters.

“It is very difficult to win this competition but we have to focus on each match and show our wish to do something here now and we are happy for it.

“Of course it is very important which team we will face after today. But now we focus, because we are in three competitions and we want to get something in the Champions League, in the Premier League and now in the FA Cup.”