Thierry Henry issues Lopetegui sack verdict after what he saw at West Ham
Thierry Henry has said that West Ham United showed him something that they have not done for a long time in the 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Monday.
The Irons were left disappointed after a late Enes Unal free-kick nullified Lucas Paqueta’s opener, but Henry was nevertheless impressed by their resilience at the Vitality Stadium on 16 December.
He is aware that the size of the East London club adds additional pressure on Julen Lopetegui, although he hopes David Sullivan gives him more time to prove himself after picking up four points in the last two games.
“West Ham are a different club than any other club”, Henry said on Sky Sports (16 December).
“If you compare Bournemouth and West Ham, the West Ham fans sometimes demand a lot out of the team, the players, the managers and whatever. So, will he get the same amount of time that another manager will get in another club? I don’t know.
“What I will say about tonight is that they showed me something that I didn’t see for a little while at West Ham, especially this season. They showed me that they could play and at one point they had to be resilient away from home against a team that are going to push them, they did.
“And yes, at times your goalkeeper is going to come and save you on the night, but they showed me two faces of their game that they didn’t show me for a very long time. They were minutes away, apart from that free-kick, from winning back-to-back games, so it would have been a great result.
“I hope it can give him time to perform and show what he’s about. But again, I go back to what I said before. Sometimes, at West Ham, Everton and Newcastle, clubs like that feel like they should be higher and doing better than what the team are actually doing.
“So, that can be something that can work against him.”
Thierry Henry issues Lopetegui sack verdict after West Ham draw v Bournemouth
Lopetegui is under immense pressure at the London Stadium with the Hammers sitting just seven points above the relegation zone.
However, he is not under immediate threat of being sacked, with Sean Whetstone reporting that even a defeat at the Vitality Stadium would not have cost him his job [X].
Having won two and drawn one of their last five games, it remains to be seen if the Spanish tactician can continue turning things around in East London and prove his doubters wrong.
There have been suggestions that Lopetegui has lost the support of some of his players [GIVEMESPORT], but Paqueta running towards him after converting his penalty showed that is not the case.
West Ham will hope to build on their results against Wolves and Bournemouth when they host Brighton at the London Stadium on Saturday (21 December).
A win will not see them climb further up the table, but three points would surely help them move further away from the relegation zone.
In other West Ham news, Jamie Carragher tore this Irons star apart after what did against Bournemouth.
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