Julen Lopetegui has bought himself some time away from the scrutiny and pressure of a West Ham job that has not exactly gone to plan.
The Spanish coach now has a week before the Hammers’ next fixture against Ipswich, where speculation regarding his future will drop a few decibels, but he must use this time wisely.
Pressure will likely shift to poor Gary O’Neil, who ironically is Lopetegui’s successor at Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, this hiatus will give the Hammers’ boss the opportunity to work on something approaching his preferred starting line-up, which seems as much of a mystery to him as it is to us fans.
It appears that his guaranteed outfield starters are Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Alvarez, and Bowen, but the rest are very much up for grabs. Soucek and Emerson could possibly be added to that list, but it’s safe to assume that half the team are playing for their places.
If Lopetegui is going to truly embed his methods into the players, then a settled team will help massively. There will always be external forces such as injuries and suspensions, but the West Ham head coach needs to establish a consistent eleven and tactics and spend the next week drilling them to get players familiar with one another.
If Lopetegui can select the same players for the next three games, we might begin to see some cohesion and a more clearly defined picture of how he sees his version of the Hammers.
I thought the idea was to have two players for every position? Why won’t he play the left sided players on the left? Preferring to play people out of position, of course they won’t play to there best!
Why don’t you offer to take his place Gonzo – easy isn’t it 😉