West Ham United owner David Sullivan is close to officially appointing Julen Lopetegui to succeed David Moyes.
David Sullivan was won over during talks with Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui, and West Ham will now have a new manager very soon indeed.
The 57-year-old former Wolves boss is all set to be handed the reins at the London Stadium on July 1st, and he has a lot of work lying ahead of him.
With up to 12 Hammers being strongly linked with the exit door this summer, Lopetegui has a serious rebuild on his hands.
My initial impression of the Spaniard was that he was an extremely uninspirational and bland managerial appointment.
However, the more I read up on him, the more I’m getting excited about what the future holds.
Yes, he is a pragmatist by nature, but his sides always play decent football, with a structure of building from the back.
Not long ago, I thought he wasn’t any kind of upgrade on Moyes, but now I’m certain that he is. The former Real Madrid and Spain manager still has very big shoes to fill though.
Moyes guided us to three successive European campaigns, and led us to our first major trophy since 1980.
So what do the club owners really expect from Lopetegui? What is the bare minimum that will be demanded from him?
Bare minimum David Sullivan expects from Julen Lopetegui
The Spaniard has big expectations on his shoulders.
For all Moyes’s faults, he got us inside the top seven in the league twice in the last four years, and ended our 43-year wait for a major trophy!
And now it has been made very clear what Sullivan expects of Lopetegui.
The Telegraph ran a report this morning, highlighting the target that has been given to the 57-year-old coach:
“Lopetegui’s task at West Ham will be very different to Wolves: the top eight will be the minimum target and he will believe he can do it.”
I would agree with that. A top eight finish should be more than achievable for him. However…I do believe he needs time to turn us into the outfit that he wants.
As mentioned earlier, a huge overhaul is needed at the London Stadium this summer. So as long as there is real progress on display, and Lopetegui’s vision for the future is clear and obvious to see, I don’t think we should get obsessed with where we finish in the table, certainly not in his fist season.
Patience will be needed because of the state of the squad Moyes has left behind – only seven first-team players will be under 29 at the start of next season, and that’s if Lucas Paqueta and Flynn Downes stay at the club!
David Sullivan clearly has high hopes for Julen Lopetegui. However, I would suggest clear signs of progress and underlying performance statistics will be more important than where we finish during his first campaign in charge of West Ham.
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