Julen Lopetegui: West Ham head coach's future understood to be hanging in the balance after Leicester defeat

The latest information Sky Sports have is that the West Ham board are split 60-40 over whether to sack Julen Lopetegui; the Spaniard has won four of his 14 Premier League games in charge after replacing David Moyes in the summer; Hammers lost 3-1 at Leicester on Tuesday

Kaveh Solhekol

Sky Sports News Chief Reporter

Wednesday 4 December 2024 18:30, UK

Julen Lopetegui's future as West Ham head coach is understood to be hanging in the balance, with the club's board split 60-40 over whether to sack him.

The club's board are currently weighing up whether to sack him following the defeats to Arsenal and Leicester, which have left West Ham 14th in the Premier League.

It is understood a final decision on Lopetegui's future will be made by Friday.

Speaking after the Leicester defeat on Tuesday, the Spaniard said: "It's a frustrating night as we deserved much more. Playing football is not easy.

"We had 31 shots in the opposition box, normally you have to win this match. We had many chances but did not score.

"Tomorrow, we will start looking for the next challenge, knowing we are able to change the situation.

"They want to win for them, for me and the club. Football is about the win. Today is a day where we deserved much more. The next will be the most important, we must be focused."

'West Ham usually give managers time - but they are leaning towards parting company with Lopetegui'

Sky Sports News' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:

"I think there is a general acceptance that performances simply haven't been good enough, apart from winning 2-0 away at Newcastle last week.

"At the moment, I think it's more likely that Lopetegui goes than he stays, but this is a difficult decision for the board to make as he was only appointed in the summer and they spent a lot of money in the transfer market.

"If you look back at what has happened at West Ham under this ownership, they have always tried to give managers as much time as possible. The majority owner David Sullivan is always very reluctant to sack a manager during a season or during his contract.

"It feels like we've been here before. West Ham tend to have managers like David Moyes, like Sam Allardyce who know a lot about the English game, are pretty pragmatic, but get results. Then sometimes the board or the fans feel they need to take another step, they need to play more expansive football, they need to change the structure at the club, bringing in a technical director and it never seems to quite work.

"They have got a technical director in from Germany, Tim Steiden, and spent all this money in the transfer market, yet you look at them on the pitch now and it looks like the defenders don't really know how to defend, the midfielders don't really know how run very much and the forwards are all getting towards the end of their careers.

"It looks like a real mess at the moment at West Ham. The only silver lining, I would say, is that, if you look at the league table, they are still 14th, which is generally where a lot of people would expect them to be.

"I don't think the board want to panic, but I think they are leaning towards parting company with Julen Lopetegui."

Sherwood: Beginning of the end for Lopetegui

Sky Sports' Tim Sherwood speaking on Soccer Special:

"West Ham had better players on the bench than they did on the pitch and l cannot believe how they set up defensively on the halfway line. It just made no sense.

"It was poor from West Ham but give Leicester credit. Personally, I think this is the beginning of the end for Lopetegui. You cannot capitulate like this.

"They are playing as if they have just been thrown on the pitch and wherever they land is where they play.

"There is absolutely no structure to their play. The manager has got it all wrong. There are more questions than answers for Lopetegui. He has had a bad night."

Beware... based on history it's sacking season!

'West Ham have not found the right formula in front of goal'

Sky Sports News reporter James Savundra:

"When Lopetegui joined in the summer, there was fresh optimism about a new era at West Ham after what had been a successful tenure for David Moyes. This was about taking West Ham to the next level in Europe and domestically, and having a playing style West Ham fans could get behind.

"But in their last 14 matches, they've lost seven. They've won just three of the last 12 top-flight matches and that is why they are in the situation they are in right now.

"On Tuesday night, Julen Lopetegui could be forgiven for wondering how on Earth his side didn't win the match, considering they had 31 shots, with an expected-goals tally of more than three.

"This has been a recurring theme at the start of this season, with their shot-conversion rate at 8.74 per cent - the fourth-lowest in the Premier League.

"They have not been clinical in front of goal when they had been so often last season, with Jarrod Bowen scoring so many goals. This season, they have simply not found the formula in front of goal and they need to turn things around very quickly.

"When you look at the goals conceded by West Ham in the Premier League in 2024, they are right at the top with 71, which is a dramatic statistic you wouldn't expect from a West Ham side.

"But at the end of last season, they conceded six at home to Arsenal, five at Chelsea and, after the match, Moyes spoke to reporters and said Declan Rice's departure to Arsenal the previous summer was the key reason why West Ham had been conceding so many goals.

"This season, there have been seven matches already where they have conceded at least three goals."

West Ham's next six Premier League games

Wolves (h) - December 9, 8pm - Live on Sky Sports

Bournemouth (a) - December 16, 8pm - Live on Sky Sports

Brighton (h) - December 21, 3pm

Southampton (a) - December 26, 3pm

Liverpool (h) - December 29, 5.15pm - Live on Sky Sports

Manchester City (a) - January 4, 3pm

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