West Ham United beat Newcastle United on Monday night, and Julen Lopetegui deserves huge credit.
Julen Lopetegui served up a masterclass on Tyneside, as West Ham beat a resurgent Newcastle side 2-0.
The Hammers were truly exceptional, with the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka putting in standout performances.
The display from the West Ham players was a huge turnaround from what we’ve seen so far this season.
There was a clear plan in place from Lopetegui – one that was executed to perfection by the Hammers.
We defended incredibly well, especially in the second-half, and attacked with real vigour and incisiveness.
Hopefully there’s plenty more where that came from.
Julen Lopetegui finally shares what West Ham’s identity actually is
The Spaniard has received plenty of criticism from fans and pundits alike this season, and rightly so in all fairness.
But that huge win over Newcastle on Monday will buy him some much needed time.
If the Hammers fans can see a clear footballing identity develop, we will all be right behind Lopetegui.
That performance against Newcastle has set the standards now, and it seems like the West Ham head coach finally got what he wanted from his players.
Lopetegui spoke to WHUFC.com after the in at St James’ Park, and responded when asked what he thought about the performance.
The Spaniard said, “We had one identity today, and I think we did well with and without the ball. Above all we were a team, and we fought for each other, and that is what you need to compete on an occasion like today.“
Lopetegui continued, “I think we showed lots of personality, and we did really well to overcome what is a tough occasion to come and play Newcastle at their own ground like this.“
I absolutely love this.
West Ham identity now clear to see
If our identity as a team is a group of hard-working players who play with high energy and implement a high and aggressive press, then I’m all for it.
It’s just incredibly frustrating that we’ve had to wait this long before seeing Lopetegui’s methods come to fruition.
Our main issue as fans this season has been the lack of a discernible playing style – in our minds, nothing had changed from last season.
Perhaps there were improvements behind the scenes that we weren’t seeing though.
Maybe Julen Lopetegui will now start to show the West Ham fans that he does, in fact, know what he’s doing!
The next test for the Hammers is a huge home clash with Arsenal at the London Stadium on Saturday evening.
And I can promise you one thing – the Gunners will not be relishing a trip to East London to take us on after watching our 2-0 win over Newcastle on Monday night.
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