Julen Lopetegui retains the support of West Ham United despite a poor start to the Premier League season with chairman David Sullivan backing the former Wolves and Real Madrid boss to turn things around.
- Exclusive from Graeme Bailey
The London Stadium outfit made history in Saturday’s derby with Chelsea, and not in a good way.
That 3-0 home defeat means West Ham United have lost all three games on their own turf to start a Premier League season for the first time ever. It was not just the scoreline either, but the nature of the defeat which has the Hammers faithful already concerned about the direction of travel under their new head coach.
Julen Lopetegui’s expensively assembled side were carved open by Chelsea time and again.
Nicolas Jackson’s second goal of the afternoon rather summed up West Ham’s performance. The striker given the freedom of East London as he raced onto an uncontested Moises Caicedo through ball.
As such, questions are starting to be asked in some sections about whether Lopetegui is the right man to take such a talented crop of players forward.
West Ham chairman David Sullivan remains confident in Julen Lopetegui
The frustration amongst the claret-and-blue fanbase has only been exacerbated by an excellent transfer window which massively increased expectations in pre-season.
The Hammers snapped up Spain international Carlos Soler on loan from PSG, reunited Lopetegui with Max Kilman, and brought in one of the brightest talents in Brazilian football in Luis Guilherme.
West Ham also snatched Jean-Clair Todibo from Juventus. Niclas Fullkrug – Germany’s first-choice number nine – arrived from Borussia Dortmund. £25 million winger Crysencio Summerville joined The Hammers from Leeds.
But while West Ham continue to underperform on the pitch – if not in the boardroom – Lopetegui is yet to come under under any immediate pressure.
Chairman David Sullivan played a big role in the Spaniard’s appointment.
While sporting director Tim Steidten preferred other options – West Ham talked to Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim before he opted to stay in Portugal – Sullivan pushed for Lopetegui after holding face-to-face talks with a man who guided Wolverhampton Wanderers away from the relegation zone in 2022/23.
Lopetegui’s CV also remains impressive, despite an ill-fated spell at Real Madrid.
He helped lay the foundations for Spain’s success at this summer’s European Championships. Lopetegui also took Sevilla to Europa League glory, with the Andalusian outfit falling off a proverbial cliff since the 58-year-old’s departure.
David Moyes reacts as West Ham lose at home to Chelsea
Sullivan is sticking by his man for the time being.
The West Ham chairman feels that Lopetegui can turn things around, despite the boos that provided the soundtrack to that Chelsea abherration.
Though, with Liverpool to come in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday and both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United looming on the horizon, there is a chance that things could still get worse before they get better for The Hammers.
To make matters worse, Lopetegui suffered the ignominy of his performance being picked apart by predecessor David Moyes following Chelsea’s cruise at the London Stadium.
“I thought it was a poor performance and they’ll be disappointed,” said Moyes, who’s second spell in charge came to an end a few months back. “Because we had a pretty good record against Chelsea at the London Stadium over the years.
“We’ve had difficulties at Stamford Bridge but, at home, we’ve been pretty good against them.”
West Ham will, at least, be confident of finally ending that home hoodoo when they host Ipswich Town on October 5th.
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