Head Coach Julen Lopetegui insists West Ham United are on the right track to reaching his desired level of performance, as his players finalise their preparations for Monday night’s Premier League trip to AFC Bournemouth.
The Hammers travel to the south coast to take on Andoni Iraola’s Cherries, looking to record back-to-back wins - following their 2-1 triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out - and their third away from home this term.
With the hectic run of festive fixtures well underway, Lopetegui’s troops also go into the contest at Vitality Stadium hoping to back up their 1-0 victory over Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup second round in late August, that would serve as a boost to their current 14th-place standing in the top-flight table.
Indeed, the Irons boast a strong recent run against Monday’s hosts, without defeat in the two teams’ meetings since January 2019, and having come out on top in four of the last six such clashes.
Iraola’s eighth-placed side are among the most in-form in the Premier League at the moment, however, following three successive wins over Wolves, Tottenham and Ipswich, while they have also trumped title hopefuls Arsenal and Manchester City in 2024/25.
A mouth-watering affair surely awaits under the lights then, as both outfits look to boost their momentum, and ahead of kick-off, Lopetegui sat down with the gathered press to discuss continual improvement, his opposite number Iraola and the pressure of working in the English top tier.
Our Spanish boss also reserved a mention for forward Michail Antonio, who continues to recover from surgery on a lower limb fracture suffered in a road traffic accident last weekend.
Thoughts with Antonio
We are going to visit him today or tomorrow. The main thing is that he is recovering well, so we are all happy. We are very close to him and his family, and we wish them all the best.
I think the best news is that he was able to talk to us before the Wolves match, on Monday. Looking at the car crash, it was a miracle [he is OK], so we are happy for him.
For sure he’s strong, and he’s recovering. The priority is for him to recover as a man, before as a player again.
Looking to build momentum
I think consistency is always important, but the score of the last match isn’t important for what happens next.
Wolves and the other games have happened, and now we are looking at the next challenge. We are making sure that we will have a strong team there, ready to compete.
Improving at the back
Keeping clean sheets is always the best thing for the team. For sure you are more likely to win matches if you do this, but it’s not easy in the Premier League.
We are trying to be more consistent. In the last match, I think we did good things, but as ever there are things we need to improve, and that’s the case defensively going into the Bournemouth fixture.
Containing the Cherries
I think Bournemouth is one of the more difficult stadiums you can go to, because of the kind of team they are. In my opinion they are one of the best teams in the league at home, and they have already beaten Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham there this season.
We have to be ready to face them, to show our strengths and to compete, because we know they are going to demand a lot.
Eye-catching Iraola
I think the head coach is doing very, very well there. At the start they had some problems, but they allowed him to show his qualities as a coach, which is what he’s doing now for sure.
He has a good team, with good players, too. That’s why it’s a tough challenge for us, because the demands we’re going to have to face up to in the match are going to be high.
But as always we have to focus on the things we can control, and be ready to answer the challenges we come up against.
Dealing with pressure
Pressure is always there, because this is the Premier League and every match is difficult.
In the same way, though, each match is a good opportunity, and a good challenge. We talk about the difficulty of facing Bournemouth, but we’re also working to show our best in the game.
I’m enjoying my work, and I love managing West Ham. We didn’t have the start we wanted, but I’m happy with the commitment of the players and I think we’re improving things step-by-step.
