West Ham leak: ‘Toxic’ reveal as image of club left damaged
West Ham United have been dealing with a “toxic” environment this week based around the Julen Lopetegui sacking controversy, according to an unnamed dressing room source.
The insider, remaining nameless for anonymity, told The Athletic (8 January) that the reputation of the Hammers has been tarnished by the way the club have handled the Lopetegui sacking, which was finalised after he took his final training session on Wednesday morning.
According to Sky Sports (8 January), replacement Graham Potter has already signed a two-and-a-half-year deal to succeed Lopetegui and return to Premier League management after nearly two years away.
The source said before the sacking: “It’s such a toxic environment at the minute.
“The players are trying to put on a brave face and we still have to prepare for Friday’s game (an FA Cup third-round tie away against fellow Premier League side Aston Villa) but we know [Lopetegui] won’t be here. It’s a tense atmosphere and the current situation doesn’t help.”
West Ham United let Lopetegui down at the end as Potter arrives
The internal dynamics of a football club can be really hurt when those inside it disagree on how something is carried out, and that has clearly been the case with Lopetegui’s dismissal.
While it was the right decision to inevitably give the Spaniard and his coaching staff their marching orders following a desperately underwhelming half-season, the way in which it was handled was messy.
West Ham cannot help the public view, but they could have saved a lot of scrutiny by stopping short of having Lopetegui take training.
The issue was, with all his staff sent packing alongside him, who then would have led the session? It was a difficult situation that certainly for their now ex-head coach’s sake could have been handled far more delicately.
Regardless, it now looks as if this problem is over the hill and football moves awfully quickly. Within days, the excitement is likely to return – especially if Potter steers the side to victory at Villa Park this week.
In other West Ham news, a potential exit route for Edson Alvarez in January.
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