Stories of unrest behind the scenes dogged Julen Lopetegui’s short-lived West Ham tenure and more have come out since his sacking.
The whole Julen Lopetegui saga dragged on too long at West Ham with story after story leaking from behind the scenes.
Many have been confirmed by the likes of The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas since the Spaniard was sacked and replaced with Graham Potter.
The journalist threatened to blow the lid on what had gone on under Lopetegui.
He has since made good on that pledge.
Everyone knew about the bust-ups with Mohammed Kudus and Jean-Clair Todibo.
It’s said Jarrod Bowen had to intervene as the Todibo altercation got physical.
Lopetegui even managed to clash with Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola – described as ‘the calmest and most liked player at the club’.
It has been revealed that Lopetegui would often only communicate with players directly via his assistant.
Honest Soucek admits West Ham dressing room was split
Ex Hammers star Don Hutchison blew the lid on how dead West Ham’s training ground has been.
A group of senior Hammers stars even told the club they wanted to leave if Lopetegui wasn’t sacked.
The lack of messages to Lopetegui from players after his departure said everything about what most thought of him.
Emerson Palmieri criticised the mentality of the team under Lopetegui.
Bowen and Lukasz Fabianski have both spoken out about those issues in the past too.
Niclas Fullkrug spoke out on a lack of leadership and hierarchy in the dressing room.
Tomas Soucek also recently admitted egos had become a problem at the club.
It has showed on the pitch in performances.
So West Ham fans were blown away by the spirited displays the team have put in under Potter in his first two games.
The new boss has been huge on “togetherness” and West Ham’s players becoming a ‘family who look after each other’.
As part of his drive to make the group more close knit, Potter has told players who aren’t in the squad that he wants them at home games supporting their teammates.
Potter huge on team spirit at West Ham
Now honest Soucek has admitted the West Ham dressing room was split before Potter’s arrival.
Speaking after West Ham’s win over Fulham, stand-in skipper Soucek took the refreshing step of admitting the dressing room has been divided.
He conceded the Hammers have been a collection of individuals rather than a team.
But he has told his teammates they must maintain their new-found togetherness under Potter.
“I think that we can play better than we did (against Fulham) in the future, and on the ball we have many things to improve, but the first thing is about fighting for each other, and we did that well,” Soucek told West Ham’s website.
Hammers must now stick together says Soucek
“We went into this game as a team, and there wasn’t any individuality. I saw one team, including the players who started, came off the bench and even those who didn’t play…
“It’s an important moment today, and I hope from here we can stick together and we can keep climbing. It’s important we stick together in the tough times, and fight to win momentum which helps us win football matches.
“There’s been a lot of enthusiasm from the lads, and good mentality, and we’re all going to be massively motivated to win again on Saturday.”
Well said that man.
Many have remarked that Soucek is making a fantastic captain in Bowen’s stead.
Some believe he should keep the armband.
But in reality it doesn’t matter who wears it, the Hammers just need as many leaders taking responsibility as possible.
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