West Ham loanee Carlos Soler says Julen Lopetegui should not be compared to Liverpool boss Arne Slot.
The two managers have had contrasting starts to life at their new clubs and Soler claims the differing circumstances mean that Lopetegui deserves more time to implement his ideas:
“We have been inconsistent because there are games that we play well, I think, and we deserve to win, like the one against Leicester (3-1), and then there is the day against Arsenal (2-5). It is true that it is a great club and a great team (Arsenal), but we can do much better. The project has many new players. The club has changed the coach, the style of play too, and I think that takes time.”
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“Today [against Wolves], we have achieved a very important victory with which we do not improve in the table, but it does help us to gain confidence… There are coaches who come to a club and in the first season, in the first games, they excel. I just remembered, for example, Arne Slot at Liverpool. It is not easy, but it is also Liverpool. In my opinion, I think it takes time.”
Soler makes a fair point
While Slot started his time at Liverpool using the exact same squad that Jurgen Klopp left him, Lopetegui had to integrate 10+ new signings into the team. Of course, that doesn’t excuse bad performances but it does explain the slow start.
You would still expect the club’s form to gradually improve over time and we haven’t seen that. There are also plenty of rumours about Lopetegui’s poor man management which doesn’t help matters.
West Ham will keep faith with Lopetegui for now
The Wolves victory alone won’t keep the Spaniard in his job. He will need to follow it up with positive results in upcoming fixtures versus Bournemouth, Brighton and Southampton.
Coincidentally, the Hammers also take on Liverpool before the end of this month. Whether Lopetegui will still be in charge by then, we shall have to wait and see.
Find out who is in West Ham’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here