Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer in complete agreement on what next for West Ham United
Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker were in agreement over what comes next for West Ham United, following a convincing 4-1 win over Ipswich Town.
Saturday’s (5 October) victory handed the Irons their first points from a game at the London Stadium this season in a much-needed boost for the home crowd in Stratford.
The duo, speaking on The Rest is Football podcast [7 October, 43:34], agreed the victory can act as a springboard for the team’s season.
“It was a very important, much-needed victory,” Lineker said.
Shearer explained: “You can imagine the reaction if they hadn’t beaten Ipswich at home – they were already under pressure, [Tim] Steidten has come in and spent a few quid.
“There’s a new manager; they went all-out attack and it worked for them. That might just be a springboard for them to kick on a bit.”
Lineker added: “Yeah, I would say so.”
West Ham United need to pick up where they left off
Heading into the second international break of the campaign on a winning note is important for the Hammers and Julen Lopetegui, given their rocky start – particularly at home.
To have gone into late October without a single home point would have been historically poor and may have had Steidten in some doubt surrounding the overhaul in players and staff which has taken place at the London Stadium.
The rebuild is still in its earliest phase. The players who are performing at the top of their game for Lopetegui are tending to be the individuals who have been at the club a number of years.
David Sullivan parted with plenty of cash in the summer via Steidten’s recruitment drive to improve the squad in the long-term, but at the moment, it is the Bowens; the Kudus’; the Paquetas’ of the squad that are bulking out their performances.
In fact, defender Max Kilman’s assist for Bowen against Crystal Palace in their only other league win back in August has so far been the only goal contribution from a new signing.
Lopetegui is figuring out his best team and attempting to manage the transition while simultaneously delivering results for an increasingly expectant fanbase.
In other West Ham news, Dan Bardell discusses Lopetegui’s long-term future.
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