Julen Lopetegui: West Ham win over Wolves eases pressure on under-fire boss

10 December 2024, 10:12 | Updated: 10 December 2024, 10:58

West Ham's win over Wolves has eased the pressure on head coach Julen Lopetegui, but results will be closely monitored over the upcoming games.

Lopetegui's future was on the line when his former side Wolves came to the London Stadium on Monday night, with the board viewing it as a cup final for the Spaniard.

However, a Jarrod Bowen-inspired 2-1 win has given him some breathing room and moved West Han nine points clear of the relegation zone.

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Those at the club who want a managerial change are not getting carried away with a win over a struggling Wolves side - they are second bottom in the table - and are still looking for consistent results and defensive improvement.

But there is an acknowledgement that the team stuck together in difficult circumstances to get the win after a difficult few days at the club following Michail Antonio's road traffic accident.

West Ham's players will now have two scheduled days off ahead of the trip to Bournemouth on Monday Night Football - live on Sky Sports.

West Ham face Brighton and Southampton after the game at Bournemouth.

Lopetegui succeeded David Moyes in the summer on a two-year deal, with the option for a further year.

When the ex-Real Madrid boss was hired by West Ham he was asked to do three things: integrate nine new signings - some with no experience at the highest level - change the system they were playing in to create more chances and win games on a more consistent basis.

Lopetegui is fully aware there is a lot of room for improvement but believes he is hitting two of those three objectives while also in the process of a rebuild.

What did Lopetegui say after the Wolves win?

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui:

"We are happy, we dedicate the victory to Michail and his family. It has been tough the last days - the last week - the last days especially. He deserves this. We love a lot Michail, he's a special person for us. I'm sure he'll overcome this bad moment and come back. Today the best thing we can do is get the victory for him.

"The first half we don't start well. We score a set-piece goal, always important. The team showed character and good mentality [after the equaliser]. To have this kind of mentality is going to help us achieve more points.

"We deserved to win, we had a lot of chances, a lot of corners. We overcame one bad moment."

'Terzic will not replace Lopetegui if he is sacked'

Sky in Germany are reporting ex-Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic will not succeed Lopetegui if he is sacked.

Terzic, who was a former assistant manager at West Ham under Slaven Bilic, is out of work having left Dortmund in the summer after guiding them to the Champions League final, which they lost to Real Madrid.

Sky in Germany understands that Kasper Hjulmand is a serious option should Lopetegui be dismissed.

The Dane is without a job after leaving his role as the Denmark national team manager in the summer, but the 52-year-old has not managed at club level since 2019.