Julen Lopetegui’s behaviour on the touchline left Jason Cundy bewildered as West Ham United lost 3-0 against Chelsea on Saturday 21 September.
Speaking on TalkSPORT with Jamie O’Hara (21 September, 5:40pm), Cundy was shocked to see Lopetegui’s lack of body language from the dugout as his team were easily beaten at home.
The Irons were 1-0 down inside three minutes as Nicolas Jackson exploited a lacklustre defence, doubling the lead similarly before Cole Palmer sealed the victory early in the second period.
Cundy could not believe what he was watching, saying: “Lopetegui, on the touchline – did you see him?
“Just stood there, arms folded, didn’t change the whole game.”
Pressure mounting on Julen Lopetegui at West Ham
Lopetegui can hardly argue that he hasn’t been given the resources to make his new-look Hammers side work, with the Spaniard leading a huge overhaul of the squad at the London Stadium.
The 58-year-old finally gave one of his new signings, ex-Leeds winger Crysencio Summerville, his first Premier League start for the club against Chelsea, but other selections were real head-scratchers.
Konstantinos Mavropanos’ continued place in the side, at the expense of new signing Jean-Clair Todibo, came back to bite Lopetegui in the London derby, with the Greek arguably at fault for all three goals.
No rallying cry came from the touchline despite Chelsea playing their way through porous Irons defence time and time again, and this simply has to change if Lopetegui is to see out the season.
Over £130million has been spent on new players for Lopetegui, and the Hammers hierarchy could soon feel that their vast array of recruitment may be better served under a different head coach.
