Sutton hits out at West Ham after what they did to ‘dead man’ Lopetegui
Julen Lopetegui was treated poorly by West Ham United before he was sacked, according to Chris Sutton.
The pundit admitted that Lopetegui was a “dead man walking” towards the end of his spell at the London Stadium, but hit out at the Irons for the way they treated him in the days leading up to the sack.
Lopetegui notably oversaw the Hammers’ training session on Wednesday (8 January) before being relieved of his duties that afternoon, leaving Sutton upset.
“The treatment at the end to Julen Lopetegui, the way it was all done and what have you?”, Sutton said on BBC Radio 5‘s 606 Football Phone In (11 January, 7:46 pm).
“He was a dead man walking, wasn’t he, but I thought that the treatment towards him at the end just didn’t quite feel right.”
Graham Potter replaced Julen Lopetegui at West Ham
West Ham with left with no option but to pull the plug on Lopetegui after they found themselves sitting 14th in the Premier League after six points.
The East London outfit hoped the Spanish tactician would take them to greater heights when they hired him as David Moyes’ replacement, but find themselves battling relegation now.
David Sullivan and co have now tasked Graham Potter with the duty of taking the Hammers up the ladder between now and the end of the season.
Potter’s reign at the London Stadium got off to a poor start as West Ham gave away a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 against Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Friday, 10 January.
The Irons’ fans eyes lit up when Lucas Paqueta gave them the lead just nine minutes into the game, but goals from Amadou Onana and Morgan Rogers in the space of five minutes in the second half handed them the defeat.
It remains to be seen if Potter can earn his first win as West Ham manager when they host Fulham at home in the Premier League on Tuesday, 14 January.
In other West Ham news, Potter’s arrival has left one Irons ace in “jeopardy”.
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