Lopetegui’s men took an early lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to Mohammed Kudus, but it came against the run of play and Spurs soon responded.
It was 1-1 in the 36th minute when Dejan Kulusevski struck, while after the break Tottenham picked up the pace.
The hosts scored through Yves Bissouma, an Alphonse Areola own goal and Heung-Min Son, to win 4-1, while West Ham’s misery was added to with Kudus being sent off four minutes from time.
For Cottee, the performance that West Ham put in was an embarrassment.
He also picked out an issue with Lopetegui, who he feels was too slow when it came to making substitutions.
Cottee wrote on X: “Embarrassing 2nd half performance, too slow with substitutions and now our best player out for 3 games.
“Can’t wait for next Sunday”, he added.
West Ham are due to play host to Manchester United next weekend, before they then head to face Nottingham Forest.
Tom Rennie has told Julen Lopetegui he won’t have a “leg to stand on” if West Ham United sack him after their defeat to Tottenham.
The Hammers returned from the international break in disappointing fashion as they were beaten 4-1 by Spurs on Saturday (19 October) despite taking the lead through Mohammed Kudus who was later sent off.
While it is unclear whether or not Lopetegui is under any pressure from the Irons’ hierarchy, talkSPORT broadcaster Rennie believes the manager could have no complaints if he is given his marching orders.
Writing on X on Saturday (19 October) he said: “Tottenham could have won this by 7 or 8 goals. West Ham have no identity, no discipline, no chance.
“Lopetegui has won no friends in East London, and this has been as bad as it gets. If the club chalked this up as a mistake and sacked him, he’d have no leg to stand on.”
Will West Ham sack Julen Lopetegui after loss v Tottenham?
Saturday’s display in North London was as bad as anything the Hammers have produced under either David Moyes or Lopetegui.
The complete collapse in the second half was unforgivable and while the players of course have to shoulder some of that blame, questions have to be asked of the manager and why he allowed that to happen.
While Ange Postecoglou was proactive enough to make a tactical tweak at halftime, Lopetegui stuck with the same XI only to make a triple change when the game had already been lost.
Managers are employed to win football matches and not only is the new Hammers boss struggling to do that, but his side are getting battered week in and week out by teams who aren’t having to get out of second gear.
It feels unlikely that the Irons will decide to part ways with the Spaniard at this stage, but something needs to happen sooner rather than later to ensure this isn’t the trend for the remainder of the Premier League season.
