Hammers’ Pressing Priorities I Ipswich Preparation

From the training video released on West Ham’s you tube channel, it’s easy to gain an insight into the preparation for the Premier League fixture this weekend. A couple of interesting themes emerge from the video which might give some pointers towards the Hammers’ priorities for the Ipswich Town game. Julen Lopetegui’s high line and pressing the ball are not new strategies : Right from the first friendly of his tenure against Ferencváros we noticed a dramatic shift in approach by trying to push forward with the defensive line and close down the opposition as a group, especially in midfield.

Pressing the ball

From the clips shown it is abundantly clear that the coaching team are placing greater emphasis on pressing the ball and ‘forcing the mistake’ – both coach Oscar Caro and Lopetegui can be heard repeating this mantra. This is consistent with the comments made by several team members who are ‘adapting’ to Lopetegui’s different style.

Remember last season and sitting back, inviting teams to attack us and playing park the bus in an ‘attack v defence’ match up for about three quarters of the game? The higher energy pressing on display in training is a departure from the old mentality. We’ll hopefully see it more in evidence against Ipswich!

All change on the left hand side 

Noticeable also – maybe I’m reading too much into the video – are clips of Aaron Wan-Bissaka playing (and scoring!) on the left hand side of a training group. If Lopetegui liked what he saw in the second half against Brentford then this could be a major hint that Emerson’s disappointing form may see him dropped to the bench and Wan-Bissaka moving across. That will leave either Mavropanos or Coufal to patrol the right back position. Big call from the head coach but we’ve seen him ring the changes without hesitation so far – last week he didn’t hesitate to play Mavropanos at right back, even though the Czech was sitting on the bench.

Coach – player spats all done and dusted

Reassuring also to see both Paquetá and Kudus training hard with no hangover from their respective spats with Lopetegui last week. Quite how either of them will feel if they’re left on the bench against Ipswich remains to be seen.