Four Lopetegui replacements named as West Ham boss ‘has two games to save job’

Julen Lopetegui has the upcoming matches against Newcastle United and Arsenal to save his job as West Ham manager, according to reports.

After finishing ninth last season in the Premier League, the Hammers have made a poor start to the new campaign under Lopetegui with his side currently 14th in the standings.

West Ham have won just two of their last ten matches in all competitions as Lopetegui fights for his job and now Jacob Steinberg in The Guardian insists he ‘needs results’ against Arsenal and Newcastle to stay at the London Stadium.

In other words, Lopetegui has ‘two games to save job’ with the West Ham board using ‘the international break to explore potential replacements’.

West Ham are still ‘clinging on to the hope the Spaniard can turn the situation around, belief in the manager is fading and there is a serious prospect of him being fired this month’.

The report adds:

‘It is understood much will depend on how West Ham fare when they visit Newcastle on Monday and host Arsenal on Saturday week. Defeats in those matches are likely to have serious ramifications for Lopetegui, who is under extreme pressure after a poor start. There is even the possibility of a heavy defeat by Newcastle forcing West Ham’s hand.

‘David Sullivan, West Ham’s largest shareholder, has been reluctant to make mid-season firings. But alarm over the performances under Lopetegui is growing and it is understood talks have been held over making a change.’

Although there is no suggestion he is in the frame for the job, former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is currently fourth favourite with the bookmakers to take over, while Steinberg claims that West Ham ‘have looked at the former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic, and have made internal checks on former Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand, former Benfica coach Roger Schmidt and Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness’.

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Former West Ham striker Teddy Sheringham has been disappointed with what he has seen from Lopetegui so far at the London Stadium.

When asked if West Ham were sold a dud in Lopetegui, Sheringham told Best Offshore Sportsbooks: “Question marks are still out for me on Julen Lopetegui. They’ve gone out and got their man, there were already question marks about their man in the first place.

“You know, he’s been in the Premier League for a short spell of time and didn’t overly impress at Wolves. Is he the right man? I don’t know. They’ve put all their eggs in one basket. They’ve chased him and given him a lot of money to spend.

“Things haven’t changed on a major scale for West Ham fans to go, ‘No, stick with him, he’s our man,’ They’re still not playing great football; they’re playing cautious football with too many defensive midfield players in midfield and not really exciting the crowd. Even though they’ve got a few exciting players in their team, they’ve not been great. So, question marks out, big time.”

On whether he thinks Lopetegui can turn it around at West Ham, Sheringham added: “I’m not as optimistic about him as I am Postecoglou. He’s not getting bums off seats. You haven’t got West Ham fans going to a game excited about what they might see. It’s a vibe of, ‘Geez, what are we going to get today?’”