Defeat for either Julen Lopetegui or Gary O'Neil when West Ham take on Wolves tonight is expected to spell the end for one head coach following horrible starts to Premier League season
Julen Lopetegui, Manager of West Ham United
Julen Lopetegui is close to being sacked by West Ham
(
Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
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This is meant to be a decisive night for Julen Lopetegui at West Ham.
But the shock of Michail Antonio’s horrific car crash on Saturday has made their struggles on the pitch seem trivial. The Jamaica forward, 34, yesterday had surgery on a leg after crashing his Ferrari near Epping Forest and there are fears he might not play again.
And for all the talk of changing head coach because of a diabolical start to the season, the concern over a club legend’s health has overtaken all else in East London.
It will not be until late tonight that the impact Antonio‘s accident has had on his team-mates becomes clear and the harsh reality for Lopetegui is that his own situation has not changed.
Julen Lopetegui's seven-word answer sums up where it all went wrong at Wolves
[
Julen Lopetegui launches defence of West Ham stars - 'It's my responsibility'](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/julen-lopetegui-launches-defence-west-34263409)
West Ham’s board met last Thursday to discuss making a change and Sergio Conceicao, Graham Potter and Michael Carrick are among those being looked at as potential replacements.
But they decided to give Lopetegui another chance to prove he can turn things around – against the team he walked out on at the beginning of last season.
The Spanish coach has been kept in the loop – he says he speaks to chairman David Sullivan twice a week – but insists there is no sense of added pressure or motivation.
“I don’t have this kind of thought,” he said. “I keep my focus on the things that are under my control. To do this I have to stay focused. This is the thing we will do. It is no different.
“All the experience you have helps you in your life, in your job. We are focused on telling the players that they are good players and we can become a better team. We are going to do this, for sure.”
Lopetegui will be joined on a stool in the Last Chance Saloon tonight by Wolves boss Gary O’Neil, who may have been nominated for November’s manager of the month award but has no room for manoeuvre following back-to-back defeats in which Wolves have conceded four goals.
Julen Lopetegui's West Ham lost 3-1 at Leicester last week. ( Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
And Gary O'Neil watched Wolves be thrashed by Everton. (
Image:
PA)
“Each year they sell one big player,” Lopetegui pointed out on Friday before returning to the script and praising his replacement. “I know he's a very good coach. That's the only thing I can say. They are a good team and deserve many more points.”
O’Neil feels similar about West Ham. “They have an incredible group of players,” he said. “When you look at the amount of attacking talent they have, what they have been able to add, it’s an unbelievably talented group that we have to face.
“And we need to stand up to that. They’ve been in some poor form, of course they have, but to go away to Leicester and have 30-odd shots, they have something there to work with.”
Yet for both the amount of talent at their disposal counts for little without better results.
This has been termed another “El Sackico”, an uncomfortable way of framing the threatened livelihood of two men whose flaws have already been hyper-analysed, but they will be fully aware another defeat will likely spell the end.
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