Julen Lopetegui was deservedly sacked from his role as West Ham United head coach 12 days ago.
West Ham decided to part ways with Julen Lopetegui after the 58-year-old took charge of just 22 games.
Lopetegui’s disastrous spell at the London Stadium has set us back by at least 12 months in my opinion.
Karren Brady recently suggested that the reason why Lopetegui was sacked was purely down to the fact that the Spaniard failed to meet the targets he was set.
However, there were so many more things wrong with Lopetegui’s tenure than purely just poor performances and results.
He allegedly fell out with multiple first-team players, including Jean-Clair Todibo, Mohammed Kudus and Alphonse Areola.
There was a dark cloud hanging over West Ham throughout Lopetegui’s reign at the London Stadium.
And that has at least somewhat lifted now.
Why West Ham really sacked Julen Lopetegui
The Spaniard’s tenure at West Ham was doomed from the start.
Poor summer recruitment undermined his chances of succeeding at the London Stadium.
And his team were dealt numerous hammerings during the first half of the season – they were beaten NINE times by three goals or more!
Now Aaron Cresswell has unintentionally lifted the lid on why things were so bad under the former Wolves, Sevilla and Real Madrid boss.
The 35-year-old Hammers vice-captain alluded to just how positive the atmosphere is at the club’s Rush Green training ground now that Potter is at the helm, as quoted by WHUFC.com:
“We know there’s a lot of work to do, and ultimately the new manager’s come in for a reason. We’ve not been good enough as players, but we have stick together and go again.
“Since he [Potter] has come in, there’s been a really good buzz around the training ground. Everyone’s positive and ready to learn.“
That’s great to hear, and it’s clear to see that the disconnect between Lopetegui and the players was obviously the main contributing factor behind his sacking.
Sure, the results and performances were horrendous, but the Spaniard’s position at the London Stadium was untenable due to the sheer volume of players he had fallen out with.
Cresswell’s West Ham training ground claim is hugely encouraging
The good news is that the players seem to have bought into Potter’s philosophy and long-term ideas very early on.
The Hammers head coach actually alluded to that recently.
If West Ham are to have any chance whatsoever of making some genuine progress this season, the players have to develop a siege mentality.
Everyone has to be on the same page, with every single person at the club pulling in the same direction.
Potter proved with Brighton that he will get things right if he is given time.
The need for new signings is obvious to see. However, I expect Graham Potter to oversee some huge improvements with his current crop of players as well.
The fact that the West Ham players are buzzing to work with Potter on the training ground is a great start to the long process that lies ahead of us.
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