After their troubling 3-1 defeat away to Leicester City, West Ham United are now only two points ahead of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side sat in 14th place.
Julen Lopetegui’s start to life in east London has been something of a disaster – West Ham have gone backwards from their time under David Moyes.
Together with Tim Steidten, Lopetegui was backed in the summer – the likes of Max Kilman followed the Spaniard from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
And yet West Ham have seen no reward from their heavy investment, losing seven of their 14 Premier League games under their new manager.
Chris Sutton explains why Julen Lopetegui’s appointment was always destined to fail
With that in mind, Chris Sutton discussed Lopetegui’s perils on BBC Radio 5 following West Ham’s defeat to Leicester.
The pundit shared his opinion that Lopetegui never looked like the ideal candidate for West Ham even before this terrible run of form.
Julen Lopetegui manager / head coach of West Ham United after the Premier League match between Leicester City FC and West Ham United FC at The Kin...
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
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Sutton said: “It never felt like there was a connection between Julen Lopetegui and West Ham fans from the start. They wanted someone different to David Moyes in terms of style of play.
“But anyone who has watched Lopetegui teams down the years would have known what he was going to bring. It wouldn’t be very different from what Moyes in terms of how they played.
“Also, there’s been so many stories around Lopetegui’s future in the past few weeks, I think there should be something in it. I think the West Ham board are looking already at who might be able to replace him.
“It’s not been one or two mischievous journalists, there’s been too many stories in the recent weeks to make me think that they are looking now. They are beginning to look a bit more seriousness at what might be next.”
Who could replace Julen Lopetegui at West Ham?
Interestingly, Sergio Conceicao is interested in the West Ham job, a manager who is already popular among the club’s top brass.
But breaking down where it’s all gone wrong for Lopetegui, there has to be some attention on the summer transfer window.
Guido Rodriguez for example now appears like an ill-advised signing – West Ham quickly returned to the likes of Tomas Soucek.
Incidentally, Rodriguez’s agents have spoken on his future, another summer arrival who may eventually seek a new challenge.
All is not well at the London Stadium right now, and it might be time for another fresh start.
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