Julen Lopetegui facing the sack and Newcastle United could tip him over the edge on Monday – Report | OneFootball

Julen Lopetegui is under pressure.

Saturday will mark six months in the West Ham job but who knows how much longer he has got.

Having lasted only nine months at Wolves, will he ‘beat’ that swift departure.

Two days after that six months landmark, Julen Lopetegui brings West Ham to St James’ Park on Monday night.

Julen Lopetegui recently spoke about his situation at the Hammers and hoping for time to turn things around…:

“I am sure that we have a lot of time to change and to turn this bad moment into a good moment.

“I have lived with extra pressure from my first day as a coach.

“I know my job, what we are doing here and what we can do.

“I try to put the focus on the daily work and the next match, this is the main thing I do as a coach and the players too.

“Always we work under pressure and we have to accept that it is normal in our job.”

It has now been reported (see below) that West Ham during this international break have been ‘exploring’ a number of potential replacements.

The popular belief is that Julen Lopetegui has these next two matches to convince the West Ham owners to give him longer, with Newcastle away and then Arsenal at home to follow.

However, a ‘heavy defeat’ to Eddie Howe’s side could see that departure of Julen Lopetegui potentially follow very quickly after the St James’ Park match.

Football London report – 21 November 2024:

‘Julen Lopetegui is facing the sack at West Ham, with the Spaniard’s future set to be decided in the coming weeks depending on results against Newcastle and Arsenal.

Lopetegui’s tenure in the Premier League has been short-lived before; he departed from his position as head coach of Wolves after just nine months last season. Facing scrutiny at West Ham, Lopetegui recently spoke about the challenges, stating:

During the international break, the club have been exploring potential replacements, including Edin Terzic and Kasper Hjulmand, previously of the Denmark national team, as well as Roger Schmidt and Stuttgart’s highly-rated head coach, Sebastian Hoeness. If West Ham fail to perform against Newcastle and Arsenal, Lopetegui could face the sack, with a heavy defeat against Newcastle possibly accelerating the decision.’

Reading comments from West Ham fans ahead of Monday’s match, two things have stood out for me.  The vast majority see it as a case of how many West Ham lose by against Newcastle, not whether they will, whilst clearly they haven’t embraced Julen Lopetegui so far.

The last two matches seeing a 3-0 hammering by Forest and a dire goalless draw at home to Everton.

Erik ten Hag of course has already won this season’s Premier League sack race, but Julen Lopetegui is as you can see below, favourite to become the next one to go.

Premier League sack race next manager to leave – The current (21 November 2024) odds available from the various bookies:

7/4 Julen Lopetegui

2/1 Russell Martin

10/1 Gary O’Neil, Oliver Glasner

16/1 Ange Postecoglou

18/1 Steve Cooper

25/1 Sean Dyche

40/1 Kieran McKenna

No disrespect but here’s hoping Newcastle United make the West Ham manager’s position look even more precarious by the end of Monday night.