Julen Lopetegui is fighting to save his job with West Ham's board weighing up his future as manager after Tuesday night's 3-1 defeat at Leicester was the latest in a string of poor performances under the Spaniard.
The chairman, David Sullivan, usually affords his managers time to turn things around, but the club's hierarchy are alarmed by the Hammers' form so far this season. The board is expected to discuss this week whether Lopetegui will still be in charge for West Ham's next match, at home to his former club Wolves on Monday. After that, the Hammers face fixtures against Bournemouth, Brighton and Southampton.
If the 58-year-old clings on to his job, those four matches are likely to shape his future. The concern among the board is that if the club do not pick up enough points from those games, then they could be in a relegation scrap and any new manager would have to take charge of a home match against Liverpool followed by trips to Manchester City and Aston Villa.
West Ham brought in the former Real Madrid and Spain coach Lopetegui to replace David Moyes, who left at the end of last season.
This story is from the December 05, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 05, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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