“Fantastic environment” | Lopetegui needs West Ham fans
Julen Lopetegui says West Ham fans will be instrumental to what he is building and is hoping to recreate the atmosphere he experienced when visiting with Sevilla.
While it may have been a special night for the Hammers, Julen Lopetegui’s first trip to the London Stadium was one to forget. West Ham bounced back from 1-0 down against Sevilla on aggregate to win the tie 2-1 in what was a historic night.
Obviously the result was absolutely fantastic, but the atmosphere at the game was something else. People always look back at the last game at Upton Park as a game with an intense atmosphere however, even the players that played in both say nothing compares to the Europa League one.
In fact, it was that electric atmosphere that made Julen Lopetegui want to manage the club. “In the end we were eliminated, but I have very good memories about the environment,” he claimed to the official site.
“It was an exciting ambience, incredible, and I remember that what I thought was, ‘one day I would like to stay here as a coach’, and now I am here. So, for me, it was a very special moment there because this kind of fantastic environment is very different for all the teams and now I want to enjoy this ambience.”
Unfortunately, despite having an extremely successful tenure, David Moyes lost that connection with the fans and a lot of that may be down to subtle digs he made. Thankfully, the Spaniard has made it clear that the East London faithful will be pivotal to his plans. “It’s an incredible place and one of the things I feel is the most important part of this Club, which is the fans,” he explained. “The fans are behind us and are always key for us, and I am sure they are going to help us achieve our aims by creating this kind of special environment they are able to create in this fantastic stadium. Of course, it’s one important part of our move into the next years.”
“It’s very important to have this environment, this ambience, because I always say that this energy you can feel in the key moments in the season. This energy is always going to help you. This positive energy always is willing to help us at home but also away too, because I know these fans of West Ham are and I am sure they are going to support us. To have this kind of environment is going to be fantastic for us.”
