West Ham United beat Wolverhampton Wanderers at London Stadium on Monday evening to enhance their chances of escaping the dreaded drop from the Premier League at the end of the season.
Jarrod Bowen was the star of the show for West Ham in their 2-1 victory over Wolves, as the Hammers went nine points above the relegation zone.
Julen Lopetegui has come under pressure this season, and even though West Ham won on Monday night, there will always be dark clouds hanging over him.
After all, West Ham were expected to at least push for the European places in the Premier League table and not scrap for points in the bottom half of the standings.
David Moyes has been linked with a return to West Ham. TalkSPORT has reported that former Chelsea manager Graham Potter is ready to take charge of the Hammers until the end of the season.
How West Ham United fans would view Graham Potter
Danny Murphy was asked about the prospect of the 49-year-old former Brighton and Hove Albion manager becoming the West Ham boss on a temporary basis.
The former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder believes that West Ham fans would accept Potter as their manager.
Murphy said on talkSPORT when asked if West Ham fans would accept Potter as the interim manager: “I don’t think it’s ideal. I think they would accept it and go with him for a while because they would expect better football because we know that Brighton he plays a certain way, so I think they would be happy with it.
“Ultimately the proof would be in the pudding, wouldn’t it, because, of course, his reputation was slanted a little bit at Chelsea, a little bit unfairly in many aspects because of what was going on there, I think.
“I think it might work for both. It might give Potter an opportunity to come in and try and make a difference and also give him the opportunity to get out if he doesn’t fancy it. I think the fans would be behind him.”
Keep faith in Julen Lopetegui… for now
West Ham clearly need to do better, but, for now, the Hammers’ board need to keep faith in Lopetegui.
The former Real Madrid boss was appointed the West Ham manager in the summer of 2024.
You have to give a new manager time to get his points across to his players and to stamp his mark on the team. Let us not forget that he did relatively well at Wolverhampton Wanderers too.
West Ham have a tough run of games coming up, and Lopetegui needs the backing of his bosses.
After the Premier League match against Bournemouth next week, West Ham will face Brighton and Hove Albion, Southampton and Liverpool in the league.