Former West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui made an excellent case for his continuation as Hammers boss with his comments yesterday.
For the record, I was one of the many West Ham fans who was far from impressed with the Spaniard’s reign. Not only did I advocate his removal from the London Stadium hot seat, but I’d have done it sooner.
However, even I was compelled to give serious consideration to his assertion that things were getting better at West Ham. “The second half of the season was going to be better. The team was 13th and had a chance of finishing ninth or 10th, which I think is where we should be. That was the idea of the first year.”
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Lopetegui continued, “Füllkrug’s injury happened as soon as we arrived and lasted three or four months. And yet, after 18 games, we had 23 points.”
Mathematically, it’s hard to argue with the Spaniard, and thus far, there is little difference between him and Graham Potter’s points per game. That said, he had lost the dressing room, and there was the not-so-secret spat with West Ham director of football Tim Steidten.
“I’ve always had a good relationship with all the sporting directors I’ve worked with. I’ve been a club man. That’s why I prefer to ignore that person, to be honest,” Lopetegui said when asked about Steidten.
Claret & Hugh were told by a club source, “The two men didn’t get along well at all,” and Lopetegui was the second coach in succession to ban Steidten from the dressing room.
Lopetegui instructs Noble while Steidten observes
Steidten was banned from the West Ham training ground
Stability from the ashes of chaos
I suspect there is far more mudslinging to come from this pair, but it was always going to be difficult appointing a head coach whom the director of football advised the club not to hire.
In the end, they both had to go, but I doubt anyone is completely to blame—or indeed completely innocent. West Ham will likely benefit from having just one man in charge, and if Potter alone is responsible for player transfers next summer, it will be preferable to three people all having an input.
Ultimately, Lopetegui wasn’t treated well towards the end of his time in East London, but despite his well-argued account of his tenure, he never should have got the job in the first place.