Julen Lopetegui expected to stay as West Ham United manager until end of season
West Ham United would have dismissed Julen Lopetegui had he lost against Newcastle United, according to Clinton Morrison, who now expects the head coach to stay on for the season.
The Spaniard won 2-0 at St James’ Park in the first of two must-win games to determine his future in East London and is now back under the microscope after the humiliating 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool on Sunday (29 December).
However, former Premier League forward Morrison shared via BBC Sport 5 Live’s Premier League Review (29 December, 18:40) that he believes, despite the loss to Liverpool, that Lopetegui will see out the season at the Hammers after avoiding the sack against Newcastle.
He said: “I look at West Ham, and I think they brought in a lot of players – and I understand they’ve had a few injuries, I get that, but every team has injuries. The style of football, they thought it was going to be fancy football, it’s still the same.
“But Lopetegui was like that when he was at Wolves, so the hierarchy must have known what kind of manager – alright I understand he’s got a good CV. But sometimes at West Ham, you have to be careful what you wish for because the job David Moyes done there was fantastic.
“I think Lopetegui is under pressure. The Newcastle game, he had to go to Newcastle, I think if he’d have lost the Newcastle game, maybe he’d have lost his job.
“I think because they’ve been on a half-decent run and got a few good results, he has to keep going from now until the end of the season.”
Julen Lopetegui must have a better 2025 at West Ham United
The sooner the Irons supporters come to terms with the fact that Lopetegui is here to stay, the better.
West Ham began the season with European aspirations heading into the season after Tim Steidten’s frivolous spending spree and despite the odds, still have an outside chance of realising those goals in the second half of the campaign.
Only six points separate the Hammers from Fulham and Newcastle in sixth and seventh place, respectively, constituting either Europa League or Europa Conference League qualification.
However, there are several key problems Lopetegui must address in the New Year before any hope can be attained to mount a push for Europe.
Jarrod Bowen is leading the example for his teammates and is carrying the goalscoring burden alone – West Ham need to recruit another recognised goalscorer.
Furthermore, Mohammed Kudus is expected to be the subject of an “irresistible” offer from Manchester City in January [Fichajes], and while the reported big-money fee would help Lopetegui fine-tune his squad, losing a key player midway through the campaign is far from ideal.
Lopetegui will continue to have every move scrutinised until the end of the season, no doubt, but he is on his ninth life in East London, and it is up to him alone to turn the tide.
In other West Ham news, Micah Richards couldn’t believe how the Irons dealt with Mohamed Salah against Liverpool.
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