Julen Lopetegui was sacked by West Ham over six weeks ago, and the Spaniard has now spoken to the press for the first time since his departure about his time at the club.
In an interview with the Guardian, Lopetegui revealed his belief that he wasn’t given enough time at the club.
He said: “The process isn’t completed overnight.
“When you’re drilling for oil, you go down, down, down, down … and you’re getting ever closer, even if oil doesn’t appear yet.
“But we weren’t in danger and we were adapting, learning, taking steps. We were working on the transfer window, strengthening, felt a better second half was coming. Six months on I understood West Ham’s reality better, the players knew us better.”
Despite this ‘process’ being in its early stages from Lopetegui’s perspective, he was quickly losing the support of West Ham fans as the season progressed, with the 58-year-old winning just seven of his 22 games in charge, and performances being far below par, which led to his eventual sacking.
Lopetegui was reported to have had a falling out with both Jean-Clair Todibo and Mohamed Kudus during his time at London Stadium, which included a half-time ‘bust-up’ with Todibo in West Ham’s 5-2 defeat to Arsenal back in November. The Spaniard played down these confrontations, however, describing these incidents as ‘more normal than people think.’
Lopetegui out Potter in
A lot of Hammers fans will have felt it was the right decision for Lopetegui to leave, but it was hard to not feel sorry for him to some extent with the way in which his sacking developed, with the club already trying to strike a deal with Graham Potter despite Lopetegui still being at the club and taking training sessions.
This happening not long after the passing of his father would have been an incredibly difficult time for the former West Ham boss, with him describing it as a time of ‘personal and professional mourning.’
Lopetegui’s fate was sealed on 8 January, with West Ham sitting on 23 points and in 13th place. Potter was announced as his replacement the following morning.
Lopetegui went on to express his annoyance at the club’s decision: “Sacking isn’t normal, unless you’re in relegation.
“In week 18 we had 23 points. There was time to do many things. Many things. You think: ‘Hey, our work’s not done.
“We left with pain and anger, frustration.”
Ultimately, the performances we’ve seen under Potter since his arrival feel like a step in the right direction and in a football environment where managers are scrutinised as soon as results aren’t going their way, it felt inevitable Lopetegui was going to be sacked.
Despite this, it still feels like the club was very unprofessional with the way the manager change unfolded, and Lopetegui’s interview and his continued belief he could have had success at West Ham does make you wonder what he could have done if he was given more time at the club.
