West Ham dominated on the day to earn their first league win for the season.
Potter said afterwards: "Football is a lot like life. It’s often challenging, often unfair, often fair. Just when you think you’re on your knees, you get something and you have to keep going. That’s the life we’re in.
"I’m delighted for the players, delighted for the team. They showed the quality they have, they showed the togetherness and the connection that they’ve had. That, of course, comes under doubt when people lose trust and confidence because the results haven’t been what we wanted.
"But always the team have been fighting for each other and I’m really proud of them for that."
Players deserved this
Potter also said as the team now breaks up for international week: "This is the first brick in the wall of our Premier League season.
"The world we’re in, things change quickly but, for us, we didn’t doubt the fight in the team, we didn’t doubt the spirit in the team, we didn’t doubt the quality in the team.
"But when results are like they are, people are looking for things and reasons and you can get very simplistic sometimes.
"The players deserve the night tonight, they deserve the win, they deserve the performance because of how they’ve acted and I’m really proud of them for that."