Two senior stars admit egos have become a big problem at divided West Ham

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Julen Lopetegui’s biggest failure at West Ham has been his inability to foster a team spirit among the new-look squad.

But don’t take our word for it.

Because the stories that have been coming out of West Ham, a series of public displays of dissent towards Julen Lopetegui and admissions from players themselves tell you everything you need to know.

It all stems from a lack of team spirit, leadership and respect in the West Ham dressing room.

Lopetegui’s decision to make Jarrod Bowen captain has been questioned.

Bowen is a brilliant player and very much leads by example.

But even Kevin Nolan has said he doesn’t think Bowen is right for that role.

Time will ultimately tell but the players themselves have been making it clear there are problems in the West Ham dressing room since Lopetegui’s arrival.

Story after story has emerged of dressing room unrest, bust-ups, public dissent and even punch-ups.

Lack of leadership and team spirit at West Ham

Even with Michail Antonio inadvertently providing a cause to rally around against Wolves, Mohammed Kudus was seen ranting at Lopetegui after being subbed.

That in itself came hot on the heels of leaks of a physical altercation between Jean-Clair Todibo and the manager.

Brutally honest Niclas Fullkrug spoke out on a lack of leadership and hierarchy in the dressing room after that incident.

Worse still the big German even suggested players are not pulling their weight in training.

Lopetegui had a bust-up with Kudus at Brentford.

He has also reportedly had falling outs with Edson Alvarez and Guido Rodriguez.

All five players are said to want to leave if he isn’t sacked.

There have been claims West Ham’s owners are angry at the situation and have demanded the manager sort it out or pay the price.

Emerson Palmieri criticised the mentality of the team under Lopetegui in an interview last week.

Bowen and Lukasz Fabianski have both spoken out about those issues in the past too.

Now two senior stars admit egos have become a big problem at divided West Ham.

Senior stars admit egos have become a big problem for Hammers

Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports ahead of Bournemouth, Tomas Soucek made it clear egos are a problem in the new-look squad.

“The best way to succeed is for all 25 in the squad to hide their egos and to act with one ego together,” Soucek said.

The big Czech even admitted Lopetegui had spoken to the team about being sacked.

Now Fabianski, West Ham’s most senior player, has spoken out again.

He says nobody should be getting carried away by the win over Wolves, admitting there was plenty wrong with the unconvincing display.

The veteran goalkeeper was seen reading the riot act to Lucas Paqueta for his lackadaisical attitude in the win over Wolves.

And he says there is still work to do in creating a positive team spirit and energy among the squad.

“The win against Wolverhampton was important, but every win is important regardless of what’s being said in the media about the Head Coach’s position or whatever,” Fabianski told West Ham’s website.

Fabianski says efforts need to be made to improve team spirit

“It’s just important to get wins. That was our main objective for that game, and we managed to achieve it.

“Of course winning games helps players get that extra bit of confidence, but you can’t get over-excited and have to ensure you analyse the game properly and prepare as normal because there are always things to improve on and make sure you’re better at for the next games. We still have a lot of work to do.

“We have a good group of players, and we’re really trying to do our best and continue to channel the positive team spirit.

“We’re always looking to improve as a team, and hopefully we can be a bit more consistent when it comes to picking up results.”

Nothing but a win at Bournemouth will do if West Ham want to save their season.

Remarkably given the start to the season, victory for West Ham opens the door to hopes of Europe again.

No team will achieve anything without a good team spirit, though.

And the single biggest problem Lopetegui must address to save his job and the season.