After West Ham United struggled once again in a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of London rivals Chelsea, one reporter has now shared what he’s hearing from the dressing room on new manager Julen Lopetegui.
Lopetegui’s disappointing West Ham start
During his time at Wolverhampton Wanderers, the argument could have been made that Lopetegui simply was not backed enough, eventually leading to an inevitable exit. This time around in the Premier League at West Ham, however, he has been handed the keys to the kingdom with a plethora of talented fresh faces arriving in the summer transfer window.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean Clair-Todibo, Niclas Fullkrug, Crysencio Summerville, Max Kilman and others all arrived in the summer to hand West Ham what should have been a major boost in their chase for European football. Yet, five games in and the Hammers have picked up just one victory in the Premier League under new manager Lopetegui, which came at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace.
Their latest moment to forget came against rivals Chelsea, who swept West Ham aside in routine fashion at the London Stadium, earning criticism from The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg in the process, and further disappointing the home fans.
Despite such a poor start though, Football Insider journalist Pete O’Rourke has shared that West Ham are still backing Lopetegui to succeed amid the belief that results will improve when his new side adapt to the extensive changes that took place in the summer.
Based on what O’Rourke has heard from the dressing room, Lopetegui’s job is safe for now, but there’s no doubt that results must improve.
West Ham must turn form around
The main criticism of David Moyes during his time at West Ham was the style of football that he implemented. Amid all of the European qualifications and the historic Europa Conference League victory, the Scot was still subject to increasing groans from the London Stadium and building doubts over whether he was the right man for the job.
Moyes’ exit gave the Hammers the chance to start fresh and throw the script to one side with the appointment of a brave, new manager. But months into his tenure and Lopetegui’s style hasn’t exactly injected the excitement that West Ham fans believed they were missing under Moyes; his appointment doesn’t seem fresh, nor that it seem brave.
The Spaniard struggled at Wolves and there’s no evidence thus far to suggest that things will be any different at West Ham. Alas, it is, of course, early days and the fact that the London club made so many changes in the summer should be taken into account.
With a trip to Anfield up next against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, things don’t get any easier for West Ham, who must turn their current form around under new manager Lopetegui.
