Broken West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui cut a sorry figure during his pre-match press conference ahead of Monday night’s crucial fixture.
The Hammers boss has been given one game to prove himself against his former club Wolves, who travel to the London Stadium for a game that means more than just three Premier League points.
Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil is also in the last chance saloon, although he appears to be holding up a little better than Lopetegui. Asked whether he had been given a similar ultimatum to the West Ham boss, O’Neil admitted he was under pressure but noted that the Wolves board had not briefed him before the game, so he was just “cracking on.”
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Lopetegui, on the other hand, very much looked like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. It has since been leaked that the Spaniard begged for his job, an unedifying scenario to picture, which likely added to his desperate demeanour during the press conference.
The whole situation had a distasteful look about it. Journalists who haven’t dared cross-examine Lopetegui’s bizarre tactical decisions earlier this season finally found their confidence, pressing home question after question about his health and job security.
Whilst I don’t want Lopetegui to remain as West Ham gaffer and certainly think he is guilty of some whopping man-management and tactical errors, I felt sorry for him on Friday.
Lopetegui looks on as his West Ham squad train
Lopetegui looks completely fed-up
Uncomfortable questions
He was placed in front of a very public firing squad, and sports hacks who never quite had the temerity to properly quiz Lopetegui on his failed tactics over the past three months suddenly had a deer in their crosshairs. It was as if those present appreciated the shift from football to personal matters—that they were more comfortable cross-examining controversy, personal failings, and catastrophising than observing football nuances.
In effect, the assembled press were in their element, with the scent of blood in their nostrils, while Lopetegui looked like the loneliest man in the world—and he probably is. The Spaniard has lost the faith of the fans, the players, and the board, who most certainly would have replaced him if they could have done so.
Lopetegui and O’Neil are in very similar positions, yet the demeanour of the two men couldn’t be more different. I’m unsure if Lopetegui has it in him to get the victory he needs against Wolves, but giving him that final game didn’t feel like an act of kindness from what I could see yesterday.