West Ham will hold talks over sacking Julen Lopetegui after drawing up a shortlist of replacements, with the ‘dressing room unhappy’ at the situation.
It would be a surprise if they were thrilled with how things have gone for West Ham so far this season, with only five wins delivered in 15 games and 29 goals conceded.
Their miserable form has come despite a summer transfer spend close to £150m on a side which David Moyes steered to a top-half finish last season before his exit.
The latest defeat was among the worst yet as promoted Leicester condemned them to a 3-1 loss in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first game as manager.
Lopetegui was in belligerent mood after the game, saying that preparing for Monday’s visit of former club Wolves was “the only thing I’m worried about now” when asked about his future.
“I understand your question,” he added. “We have a lot of matches. I am sure with this attitude we are going to be able to achieve many more points. We are very frustrated.
“At the end of the season, maybe we will be talking another way. There are a lot of matches in front of us, a lot of points. I believe in these players, I believe in the team, and I believe the second half of the season is going to be much better.
“The [players] want to win for them, for me, for the club. This is about football, about winning. I told the players that we deserved much more if you are able to create this number of chances.
“For me each match is very important and the next match is going to be the most important. We have to be focused and do a good performance to win the match.”
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But Lopetegui, who was treated to chants of “sacked in the morning” from the travelling supporters, is very much on the brink, with reports suggesting West Ham’s board are ‘set to discuss whether to take the drastic option of sacking’ the Spaniard, who was torn to shreds by Tim Sherwood on Sky Sports punditry duty.
“They are playing as if they have just been thrown on the pitch and wherever they land is where they play. There is absolutely no structure to their play,” he said.
“The manager has got it all wrong. There are more questions than answers for Lopetegui. He has had a bad night.”
Pretty sure Sherwood saying “the manager has got it all wrong” is an automatic sacking.
Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian posted on X about the ‘unhappy’ dressing room at West Ham, adding that ‘Lopetegui is the wrong fit’.
Sergio Conceicao is again mentioned elsewhere as a possible replacement and Graham Potter is also ‘thought to be interested’, while Edin Terzic is considered ‘the favoured option’ despite ‘doubts over how keen he is’ on the job.
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