Fourteenth in the Premier League – this morning – and heading up to a very challenging fixture at St James’ Park against a Newcastle United side sitting in ninth place in the Premier League, seven points ahead. West Ham have it all to do after their disappointing start to the season. Julen Lopetegui‘s poor start and muddled, stodgy football has not endeared him to the Claret and Blue faithful and clearly these next two games will be crucial.
The Leicester City board decision to fire manager Steve Cooper at this stage in the season must bring home to Lopetegui his perilous position. Cooper lasted twelve Premier League games – West Ham’s away game tonight will be Lopetegui’s twelfth in charge.
The first manager casualty of any Premier League campaign always brings home how fragile their tenure is in this modern day football world. If the ‘warning’ lights were not flashing amber brightly for Julen Lopetegui before – they are now.
Now that the ‘first’ coach has been fired, the pressure is lessened on other Premier League club bosses and boards to follow suit:” The ‘first’ will inevitably get the lion’s share of the publicity and I am sure David Sullivan would not want to make the public admission that he got it wrong with Lopetegui.
Now that Leicester have jumped first, more will follow: Lopetegui’s job security just go that much more fragile. For the West Ham board to consider a stay of execution just requires a glimmer of improvement, squad cohesiveness, a decent strategy and even, perhaps just a point in the next two games. That’s how low the bar is set, sadly, after £140 million spent.
On past performance, unless Julen has pulled out some miracle coaching strategy during the international break, that one solitary point in the next two games would seem out of reach.
