Some of the best teams in the Premier League have been those who pull together: Not necessarily the most skilful or the most individually talented but those who will work tirelessly for each other, for their Manager and for their fans. The biggest challenge Lopetegui faces just now is to rebuild what seems a fractured West Ham dressing room.
Bust-ups between the head coach and a number of players have resulted in several – reportedly – wanting to leave if Lopetegui stays: Edson Alvarez, Lucas Paquetá, Jean-Clair Todibo, Niclas Fullkrug and Mohammed Kudus have all been portrayed as wanting an exit from the club.
It cannot show the club favourably when trying to recruit talent in the forthcoming window when the ‘manager’ is under fire and players are portrayed as being desperate to leave.
Most Read on West Ham News
An interview with absolute claret and blue legend – in my eyes – Tomas Soucek reveals the Czech Republic’s captain’s own take on dressing room harmony. Speaking to Sky Sports, Big Sou was asked which types of players he wanted and liked working with most – the answer:’The best way to succeed is for all twenty five in the squad to hide their egos and to act with one ego together” is both endearingly quaint and quite revealing at the same time: It could most and certainly be interpreted as a veiled hint for his colleagues to pull together and put the ‘team’ first.
Whilst Soucek reveals that Lopetegui claims to ‘love the pressure’ that he’s under at the moment, it is clear that West Ham have a way to go yet. If the whole squad can indeed start playing with Tornado Tom’s ‘one ego’ – uniting within the dressing room – then maybe there is much more to come from this squad. Whether Lopetegui himself can unlock the potential, the next few weeks will tell.
Soucek certainly seems to believe there is much more to come and that the team is not yet getting the results from changing to Lopetegui’s high pressing possession style. The jury is still out on whether it is the right strategy to take West Ham forward.