Julen Lopetegui: West Ham head coach's future understood to be hanging in the balance after Leicester defeat

4 December 2024, 09:22 | Updated: 4 December 2024, 12:03

Julen Lopetegui's future as West Ham head coach is understood to be hanging in the balance. 

The club's board are currently weighing up whether to sack him following the defeats to Arsenal and Leicester, which have left West Ham 14th in the Premier League.

• Live Premier League table | Watch free Premier League highlights
• Does Julen Lopetegui deserve more time? Join the conversation on WhatsApp!

It is thought sections of the board have lost faith in Lopetegui.

Speaking after the Leicester defeat on Tuesday, the Spaniard said: "It's a frustrating night as we deserved much more. Playing football is not easy.

• Ruud van Nistelrooy makes perfect Leicester start as pressure mounts on Julen Lopetegui
• Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW

"We had 31 shots in the opposition box, normally you have to win this match. We had many chances but did not score.

"Tomorrow, we will start looking for the next challenge, knowing we are able to change the situation.

"They want to win for them, for me and the club. Football is about the win. Today is a day where we deserved much more. The next will be the most important, we must be focused."

Sherwood: Beginning of the end for Lopetegui

Sky Sports' Tim Sherwood speaking on Soccer Special:

"West Ham had better players on the bench than they did on the pitch and l cannot believe how they set up defensively on the halfway line. It just made no sense.

"It was poor from West Ham but give Leicester credit. Personally, I think this is the beginning of the end for Lopetegui. You cannot capitulate like this.

"They are playing as if they have just been thrown on the pitch and wherever they land is where they play.

"There is absolutely no structure to their play. The manager has got it all wrong. There are more questions than answers for Lopetegui. He has had a bad night."

Beware... based on history it's sacking season!

'West Ham have not found the right formula in front of goal'

Sky Sports News reporter James Savundra:

"When Lopetegui joined in the summer, there was fresh optimism about a new era at West Ham after what had been a successful tenure for David Moyes. This was about taking West Ham to the next level in Europe and domestically, and having a playing style West Ham fans could get behind.

"But in their last 14 matches, they've lost seven. They've won just three of the last 12 top-flight matches and that is why they are in the situation they are in right now.

"On Tuesday night, Julen Lopetegui could be forgiven for wondering how on Earth his side didn't win the match, considering they had 31 shots, with an expected-goals tally of more than three.

"This has been a recurring theme at the start of this season, with their shot-conversion rate at 8.74 per cent - the fourth-lowest in the Premier League.

"They have not been clinical in front of goal when they had been so often last season, with Jarrod Bowen scoring so many goals. This season, they have simply not found the formula in front of goal and they need to turn things around very quickly.

"When you look at the goals conceded by West Ham in the Premier League in 2024, they are right at the top with 71, which is a dramatic statistic you wouldn't expect from a West Ham side.

"But at the end of last season, they conceded six at home to Arsenal, five at Chelsea and, after the match, Moyes spoke to reporters and said Declan Rice's departure to Arsenal the previous summer was the key reason why West Ham had been conceding so many goals.

"This season, there have been seven matches already where they have conceded at least three goals."

West Ham's next six Premier League games

Wolves (h) - December 9, 8pm - Live on Sky Sports

Bournemouth (a) - December 16, 8pm - Live on Sky Sports

Brighton (h) - December 21, 3pm

Southampton (a) - December 26, 3pm

Liverpool (h) - December 29, 5.15pm - Live on Sky Sports

Manchester City (a) - January 4, 3pm

(c) Sky Sports 2024: Julen Lopetegui: West Ham head coach's future understood to be hanging in the balance after Leicester defeat