Julen Lopetegui has spoken to the media for the first time since the day of his appointment as he prepares to officially start his job as West Ham manager on July 1st.”I think that we are going to have time to work on the skills of the players, but I think that we have a good base and a good platform to start working from,” he told the club’s Official Website.
”They are playing with quality and of course I’m totally willing to try to improve this squad. We will be humble, but we can be humble and at the same time ambitious. I think this is the platform we have to try to put in [our philosophy] on the first day.”
The Hammers were far from a bad footballing side throughout the majority of David Moyes’ spell. The Scotsman led the club to three top nine finishes and three deep runs into European competitions, obviously including the massive triumph in the Conference League.
The incoming Spaniard was full of praise for his predecessors work, “David has done very good work here, I have huge respect for him as he has the third-most matches (managed) in the Premier League, which is incredible, but now we are here because we have this aim, this desire and this commitment with our work for the Club too.”
“You can be humble in football, but you can also show that you have big ambitions every day because this is your responsibility. When you wake up, you have to show every day that you want to improve, improve and improve, and this will be our demand.”
One of the keys for this improvement will be the relationship between Lopetegui and technical director Tim Steidten. From the early signs, it looks like the German was behind the appointment of Lopetegui, and they are more than happy to work together.
This has been highlighted by the early activity in the transfer window. The club are close to wrapping up the signing of Luis Guilherme from Palmeiras. The 18-year-old Brazilian midfielder is a very risky signing, and a type of move West Ham have never made. It’s a move David Moyes probably wouldn’t have backed due to the risk factor and his inexperience. The club are looking to bring in six more signings before the start of the season.
Lopetegui wrapped up the interview with a message that was cautious but should fill West Ham fans with optimism going into the 24/25 season. “We are going to work very, very hard first of all to try translate to the players our way to work every day, with a big demand. Of course, being able to have all this energy around the Club, too, I am sure that we are going to have the help of all the workers in the Club too.
“It is never easy because there is nothing easy in football. All the things you are going to achieve come with big challenges, but we believe in this way to work, and we are going to try to do it.”
