West Ham United head coach Julen Lopetegui will undoubtedly be really feeling the strain right now.
Julen Lopetegui was handed the role of head coach at the London Stadium officially on July 1st, after David Moyes had been moved on by the West Ham board.
Things haven’t gone smoothly at all for Lopetegui and his staff, after nine new players arrived at the club in the summer transfer window and 12 left.
It has actually been claimed in his home country that his job could be in danger if results don’t improve.
However, rumours doing the rounds in England suggest that his job is actually not under immediate threat.
Either way, Lopetegui will definitely be feeling the pressure right now.
And the 58-year-old needs to respond accordingly as far as I’m concerned.
Julen Lopetegui must make boldest decision yet for Brentford
After the poor start to the season, we all could do with something really positive happening this weekend.
The Hammers absolutely cannot afford to lose to Brentford tomorrow.
The boys all need to be bang up for this one, and prove that they all have the hunger and fight needed to play for West Ham.
Lopetegui must get his starting XI spot on for this game, and I think he actually should be brave enough to make what would be a huge call.
In my opinion, Lopetegui needs to drop Lucas Paqueta down to the bench for the Bees clash, despite the importance of the game for us.
Now, I know that Lopetegui left Paqueta on the bench for our last Premier League away game against Fulham, but that was more to do with the fact that he had only returned from Brazil 48 hours before the match.
Let’s face it, Paqueta has been really poor this season, and he was during the second half of last term as well.
Lucas Paqueta must understand he’s not bulletproof
The 27-year-old former Lyon man has scored just five ‘non penalty goals’ in his last 64 appearances for West Ham.
That just isn’t good enough for someone who operates as an attacking midfielder.
He doesn’t rack up as many assists as he should do either, as far as I’m concerned – has has a grand total of zero in five games this season.
West Ham need much more from Lucas Paqueta. He’s one of our three star men and we’re just not getting any output from him right now.
The Brazilian needs to wake up and start delivering. When he’s on the pitch, he needs to be super focused with the mindset that he will make a difference inside the final third for the Hammers.
However, Lopetegui needs to remind him that he’s not undroppable. The Spaniard should send out a message to Paqueta this weekend, and leave the 27-year-old out of the starting XI.
That will free up space to give Carlos Soler a chance – hopefully we will get to see what the PSG loanee is all about in the Premier League.
Related Topics