Julen Lopetegui made bizarre demand on day he was sacked and West Ham had to intervene

Speculation had been rife in the two days between as Graham Potter was lined up to come in.

Much was made of the fact Lopetegui had continued to take training despite knowing he was about to be handed his P45.

That led to a rather ironic outpouring of sympathy for the 58-year-old from West Ham fans and the press.

“We have to remember there’s a human being involved here,” were the words of one Sky Sports reporter.

West Ham fans also called for the owners to treat Lopetegui with more dignity and respect during his final days.

In the end he and the supporters were put out of their misery.

When the official statement finally came, the Hammers said Lopetegui had failed to meet their expectations in the first half of the season.

Lopetegui’s bizarre demand on day he was sacked by West Ham

As a result West Ham felt they had no choice but to make Lopetegui’s tenure the shortest of any permanent Hammers boss in history.

It was among the worst too as Lopetegui departed with a worse win ratio than the hapless Avram Grant.

There were some theories West Ham were trying to make things so unbearable for Lopetegui that he’d be forced to walk and therefore not entitled to the compensation due to him.

Lopetegui sent a classy message to West Ham on social media after his sacking was confirmed.

That took some by surprise given the way he was treated.

Especially as rumours had circulated that Lopetegui might blow the lid on that and his fallout with Tim Steidten behind the scenes.

Well perhaps he was planning to go out with a bang by doing just that before the Hammers hierarchy managed to nip it in the bud.

Because Lopetegui made a bizarre demand on the day he was sacked and West Ham had to intervene.

On the day he was sacked, Lopetegui was due to go in front of the press for his pre-Aston Villa press conference.

West Ham announced that press conference had been cancelled. But Lopetegui still arrived at Rush Green to take training that morning.

Now it has emerged that Lopetegui made a very strange demand to the club that day.

Was Lopetegui about to blow the lid on Hammers fallout?

In his latest column for The Daily Mail, journalist Sami Mokbel claims Lopetegui “fiercely demanded clearance to conduct his usual pre-match press conference” just hours before he was sacked by the Hammers.

Mokbel says despite his imminent sacking being the worst kept secret in football at the time, Lopetegui ‘pleaded with club officials to allow him’ to take his pre-match media briefing on the Wednesday afternoon as normal.

Lopetegui was angry and disappointed when the club stepped in to stop him.

Now why would Lopetegui want to speak to the press when he knew West Ham were going to be sacking him that day.

And make no mistake Lopetegui knew.

He may have had to wait for official confirmation but the Hammers had let him know he was going to be replaced.

So what was his motivation to want to do that press conference?

It was widely reported he had fallen out with several Hammers stars including Mohammed Kudus and Jean-Clair Todibo.

Not to mention the big bust-up with technical director Tim Steidten too.

Was he going to blow the lid on the goings-on or stand up for his record and shift blame elsewhere?

Were West Ham worried that is what he was planning to do? Hence them quickly shutting the demand down.

Only Lopetegui and the club will know.

One thing is for certain, Lopetegui has been quickly forgotten by fans.

Potter has made an instant impact on the performance levels and approach.

Fans are enthused by what they have seen and Lopetegui has already faded into insignificance as a result.

Since Lopetegui’s exit. former Hammer Don Hutchison has revealed just how bad it was at West Ham’s training ground under him.

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