Julen Lopetegui has opened up on how Guido Rodriguez really reacted after being substituted before half-time during the West Ham United vs Chelsea clash.
Tomas Soucek replaced Guido Rodriguez in the 38th minute during West Ham‘s shambolic performance against Chelsea on Saturday, a move from Julen Lopetegui that really raised some eyebrows.
The performance from West Ham against Chelsea at the London Stadium was actually an embarrassing one, and Julen Lopetegui apologised to the Hammers fans after the game.
It was actually nice to see the Hammers head coach take some real accountability – something we never saw from David Moyes!
That said, Lopetegui’s apology was the only positive to come out of the defeat to Chelsea.
I must admit, I felt really sorry for Rodriguez when he was taken off seven minutes before half-time.
He is clearly a very good player, and Edson Alvarez shared his delight when his former teammate moved to the London Stadium.
However, Saturday would undoubtedly have been a real low point for the Argentinian.
Julen Lopetegui – how Guido Rodriguez reacted after Chelsea substitution
The Hammers head coach addressed the media yesterday afternoon.
And the Spaniard lifted the lid on Rodriguez’s reaction after he was taken off during the Chelsea clash.
Lopetegui told WHUFC.com:
“We made a change at half-time [with Guido Rodriguez coming off], but when you do that it’s not about a player’s form, but rather to do with my first decision. It’s not something I like to do, but we have to be honest and accept when we can do things better. Guido is experienced, and he understood the situation.“
It’s nice to see the professionalism shown by Guido there, but I would personally like to see more fire from our players.
If he had left the pitch in a fury, I would have actually found that to be encouraging.
I want players with real passion representing West Ham. That said, it’s very hard to criticise the 30-year-old for taking Lopetegui’s decision on the chin.
It’s just surprising to me that Rodriguez was so accepting of the decision.
Guido Rodriguez needs to be given time to adapt at West Ham
Rodriguez moved from La Liga to the Premier League in the summer, so it was always going to take him some time to settle.
The 30-year-old has looked decent for us so far, but he clearly isn’t at his physical peak just yet.
The Premier League is ferocious in speed and intensity, and once the Argentina international adapts to the nature of the game in England, I’m sure he’ll be a key player for us.
The former Real Betis midfielder is a really tenacious tackler and plays with unadulterated aggression so in theory, he should be perfectly built for Premier League football.
On paper, Guido Rodriguez has everything needed to become a success at West Ham under Julen Lopetegui.
He just needs to be given time and plenty of patience from the Hammers fans.
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