West Ham were extremely fortunate again as they got away with a draw against Brighton and now the club has laid it on the line to Julen Lopetegui.
Hammers News exclusive
The Hammers were jeered off at half-time and full-time of the 1-1 draw with Brighton at the London Stadium.
Once again West Ham were fortunate to get a result as Brighton missed a host of gilt-edged chances.
Julen Lopetegui admirably returned from Spain to lead the team after the death of his father.
That has earned him respect among West Ham fans as a man.
But the jury is still very much out on the Spaniard as a manager of a football club stuck in purgatory.
The Hammers have won just five of their 17 league games under Lopetegui.
Jury still out on Lopetegui as West Ham manager
If West Ham’s goal at the start of the season was to avoid relegation, then they’d be just about on course to achieve that.
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That was the furthest thing from anyone’s mind as Tim Steidten and Lopetegui spent £155m on nine new players, though.
Europe was the aim and West Ham’s failure to rack up consecutive wins during a favourable run of fixtures looks to have ended any glimmer of hope on that front.
The Hammers were very lucky to beat Wolves in that must-win game after Lopetegui was given one last chance by the club’s owners.
Wolves deserved at least a draw, if not to win, after being denied two clear penalties.
They also missed a sitter and West Ham’s winner should have been ruled out for a foul.
Julen Lopetegui, Manager of West Ham United, looks on prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Brighton & Hove Albion F...
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Hammers jeered off after another fortunate result
Bournemouth also missed a number of chances but a point at the Vitality in isolation is not a bad result.
At home against a Brighton side who had not won for four games and were missing six key players, West Ham fans were hoping for a win and performance to ignite the campaign.
Instead it was another game where West Ham lacked any kind of clear identity – in stark contrast to the visitors, who also appointed a new manager and signed lots of new players in the summer.
West Ham have become a very tough watch.
Fans have grown bored of what’s being served up by the team and feel Lopetegui is failing to get any kind of consistent tune out of his team.
Brighton should have won the game but spurned a host of late chances, including a miss of the season contender from half a yard out.
Fans made it clear what they thought as jeers rang out at full-time.
But what do the club’s owners make of the situation?
Underwhelmed West Ham lay it on the line to Lopetegui
Underwhelmed West Ham have laid it on the line to Lopetegui ahead of Southampton after the fortunate draw.
The 14th placed Hammers are now essentially eight points off a European spot given their vastly inferior goal difference.
The season is in danger of petering out into a battle for midtable mediocrity at best.
A spark is needed if the club is going to push up the table in the second half of the campaign.
Many fans feel that spark could come from a change of manager with Graham Potter said to be on standby to take over West Ham until the end of the season if Lopetegui is axed.
The Hammers go to basement boys Southampton next.
The Saints are officially on course to be the worst team in Premier League history as they sit rock bottom on just five points.
Nothing but a win will do in the eyes of Hammers supporters.
General view outside of the stadium prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal FC. Overlaid, an exclusive banner.
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
West Ham face must-win against Southampton
And Hammers News can reveal that is a view shared by the club’s owners too.
Discussing the Brighton performance, a key senior West Ham spokesman made expectations for the trip to St Mary’s perfectly clear.
“We have to win at Southampton,” the West Ham spokesman close to the owners told Hammers News.
“We’re three games undefeated, but we need to play better.
“We only looked good in TINY patches.”
That is a more than fair assessment.
And whatever your stance on the owners or the manager, the Hammers hierarchy have been more than fair with Lopetegui.
At any other club he would have been sacked by now.
Southampton is now unquestionably a must win.
New Saints boss makes Hammers clash a banana skin
West Ham have ridden their luck in the last three matches and shown no signs of real improvement.
Liverpool, Man City, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Arsenal loom large in the next set of fixtures.
So winning against the Saints is a must.
The problem is the Southampton game has now been made a banana skin for the Hammers.
Southampton have gone out and made the very impressive appointment of Ivan Juric as their new boss.
The Croatian, who was allegedly among the candidates being considered by West Ham, is known for getting his teams playing high tempo, aggressive football.
He has come in and vowed to make a difference.
And his first home game comes against West Ham – just as Ruud van Nistelrooy’s did with Leicester.
If West Ham don’t win on Boxing Day, it could be the knockout blow for Lopetegui.
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