West Ham faith in Julen Lopetegui fading as David Moyes comparison made
Nedum Onuoha believes belief is clearly fading in Julen Lopetegui from West Ham supporters and said the only difference between the Spaniard and David Moyes is “inconsistency”.
The Hammers are 14th in the Premier League and a 3-1 defeat to Leicester City on Tuesday has seen the pressure cooker really crank up on the be
Writing for the BBC Sport website (5 December) BBC pundit Onuoha asked what has really changed since Moyes was replaced.
“I feel sorry for most football managers because they can’t legislate for small mistakes in performances,” he wrote.
“As for West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui, you can say he hasn’t had a lot of time, but he hasn’t really shown much in that time to give people belief that changes will occur in the future.
“From listening to people associated with the club, post-David Moyes they wanted to see a manager who brought something different and as it stands the only difference is probably inconsistency.
“That is not what West Ham were looking for. There is not a good pattern forming and the belief is fading. I’m not saying that the players are losing faith, but what will it take for fans to believe in Lopetegui now?
“Fans just want consistency. They don’t believe they should be winning the league or finishing in the top four but with the talent they have they should be doing better than they are”.
Julen Lopetegui is on borrowed time at West Ham United
This season as most will know, has been well below par for the Hammers. Lopetegui was brought in to try and bring a different playstyle to the team but instead, it feels like David Sullivan hired a manager with similar values to David Moyes.
To make matters worse, however, it feels like West Ham are worse off now than what they were with the Scotsman in charge.
Fans felt their team could finish higher than ninth place this season but at this rate, they’ll be lucky to break into the top half.
Monday’s game against Wolves will be pivotal to the future of the Spaniard and if he doesn’t come away from that game with all three points, there’s no way that he won’t lose his job and the Hammers will find themselves back at square one.
Several names have already been linked with taking over the role but until he’s officially relieved of his duties, it’s unlikely that anything concrete will come to light just yet.
In other West Ham news, Erik ten Hag has been named as the search for Julen Lopetegui’s successor is in full swing.
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