Julen Lopetegui is not under any pressure at West Ham United after the Irons’ defeat to Chelsea, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The transfer specialist reported via his Daily Briefing column (22 September) that the indication from within the London Stadium is that they intend to keep working together with the manager, rather than sack him.
Lopetegui has come under increased scrutiny from pundits and fans alike following the Hammers’ 3-0 defeat to Chelsea, with some even going as far as to suggest there should be a change in the dugout.
Writing in his Daily Briefing, Romano said: “It’s been a difficult start to the season for West Ham under new manager Julen Lopetegui, with the club losing their first three home games, so is the new manager already under some pressure?
“My view is that it takes time for a new manager sometimes. There are a lot of new players and new staff – it’s a new project at West Ham.
My understanding is that there is no pressure now, they just keep working all together to change the situation and that’s the indication coming from the club.
It’s also worth remembering that they have played Chelsea, Manchester City and Aston Villa in their first few games, so that’s really not an easy schedule by any stretch of the imagination.”
Will West Ham sack Julen Lopetegui at the London Stadium?
Fans have understandably been left incredibly frustrated by the Hammers’ miserable start to the season and Saturday (22 September) afternoon’s defeat to Chelsea will have done very little to lift their mood.
The Irons looked disorganised, disinterested and miles off of the pace set by Enzo Maresca’s side as they were easily picked apart by a Chelsea side that hasn’t exactly started the season in the best form themselves.
While the buck will always stop with the manager, it would be naive to assume that sacking Lopetegui and appointing another new head coach would manage to solve all the problems in East London.
The former Real Madrid boss deserves time to try and find that winning formula. As Romano suggests, the fixtures haven’t been kind to the Hammers at the start of this term, these opening games were always going to be tough.
It will be interesting however to see just how much patience the decision-makers at the London Stadium have if results don’t improve.
In other West Ham news, Brendan Rodgers’ stance on a Celtic exit and move to the London Stadium has been predicted
