Darren Bent reacts to ‘scathing’ comment made by West Ham United favourite after Liverpool loss
Darren Bent was surprised by Tony Cottee’s “scathing” review as West Ham United lost 5-1 to Liverpool in the EFL Cup.
The former Hammers star was very honest about his feelings on Julen Lopetegui, admitting he never wanted the Spaniard appointed in the first place, having replaced David Moyes at the helm.
Fans will have certainly shared similar feelings after watching the heavy defeat unfold at Anfield, though Bent was quite taken aback by the comments.
Cottee said: “I’ve got to be honest – I didn’t want him in the first place, and I made my feelings quite clear.
“My problem with the appointment is that it is a sidewards step, to someone pretty much the same age, same sort of tactics as Moyes and about the same number of trophies. I want Lopetegui to be successful, but I just doubt him.”
Speaking live via talkSPORT on Thursday (26 September, 4:09pm), Bent said: “It was Liverpool at Anfield… 10 men for part of it too.
“Tony Cottee was quite scathing this morning when I listened to him. He never wanted him [Lopetegui] in the first place.”
Julen Lopetegui under pressure after West Ham United v Liverpool
The pressure is certainly rising on Lopetegui at the London Stadium already, having only taken over from Moyes during the summer.
Despite experiencing quite an exciting summer transfer window, and adding a number of talented stars to the squad, the Hammers’ form has been far from ideal so far.
They currently sit in fourteenth, just three points above the dreaded relegation zone, and have only claimed a single win over Crystal Palace in the first six games.
Of course, with 32 matches of the league campaign remaining, the Spaniard has plenty of time to turn his fortunes around at the London Stadium, but there is no hiding from the current performances.
Losing 5-1 to Liverpool in the EFL Cup was already bad enough, but a number of the players were far from their best while Edson Alvarez was sent off for a stupid challenge, having already been on a yellow card.
Lopetegui has plenty of issues to address as the season trundles on, and he must sort them out soon or face the risk of already being sacked.
In other West Ham news, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville were in complete agreement over their scoreline prediction v Brentford.
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