Julen Lopetegui ‘in trouble’ at West Ham – Insider
Julen Lopetegui could find himself “in trouble” at West Ham if they get caught up in a relegation battle, according to the club’s former scout.
Mick Brown, who worked as a senior scout at the London Stadium until leaving alongside David Moyes in June and remains very well-connected at the club, exclusively told Football Insider that the Hammers must “be careful” not to lose confidence.
Following an impressive 2-1 win against Man United at the London Stadium, Lopetegui’s side are currently 13th in the table with three wins, two draws and four defeats.
However, Brown warned that a few results going against them could cause confidence to drop given their up-and-down form so far this season.
He then explained that once you get sucked into a relegation battle, it can be hard to pull yourself out, and questioned whether Lopetegui would be the right man to handle that situation.
The boss has previous experience of relegation battles from his time at Wolves, but he inherited Bruno Lage’s team to turn around their fortunes rather than getting caught up in it himself.
As a result, Brown has claimed the boss could find himself in trouble if the Hammers find themselves on the wrong end of a few results.
West Ham warned to turn results around amid relegation threat
West Ham have a mixed run of fixtures upcoming, with games against high-flying Nottingham Forest, a resurgent Everton, Newcastle, Arsenal and struggling Leicester in their next five.
Brown, who has prior experience at struggling clubs, claimed that should results go against the Hammers, they could fall into a difficult situation.
“They’ve got to be careful,” he told Football Insider.
“When you look at the team and the assets they’ve got, they should be higher than they are.
“One win can change everything when you look at the table, but West Ham just haven’t been good enough given the quality in the side.
“It’s difficult to get that monkey off your back once you’re down there.
“A few results go against you, confidence drops, you find yourselves in a relegation battle and it’s very hard to get out of it.
“Some players and some managers can handle that better than others, but if he can’t, he’ll be in trouble.
“West Ham were used to coming sixth or seventh in the table, so if they get caught up towards the bottom, it’ll hit them by surprise.
“It was a good win against Man United, that will give them confidence and move them away from any growing concerns, but it’s still a possibility.
“Lose a couple of games while other results go against you and all of a sudden you’re in a fight.”
In other news, West Ham hit by “surprise” January window blow.
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