West Ham United Head Coach Julen Lopetegui admits Tuesday night’s Premier League trip to Leicester City poses a unique challenge, but insists his team are fully focused on bouncing back from Saturday’s Arsenal disappointment with a bang.
The Hammers fell to a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the title-challenging Gunners at the weekend, following a chaotic first half at London Stadium, but could make it two away triumphs in a row with a strong performance at King Power Stadium.
Victory over Newcastle United at St James’ Park in their last away game yielded a number of positives, and while clear he is reluctant to dwell on the past, Lopetegui - who will be back on the touchline after serving a one-match touchline ban against Arsenal - is hopeful of another eye-catching performance under the lights.
Earning the full share of the spoils against newly-promoted Leicester will be no mean feat however, particularly as Tuesday’s encounter is set to mark new manager Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first in the hotseat.
The Foxes parted ways with Steve Cooper last month, and after watching from the stands against Brentford at the weekend, former Manchester United star Van Nistelrooy will be looking to quickly eradicate a run of three straight league defeats, and four in five, that sees them sat 16th in the standings on ten points.
With a fiery atmosphere expected, an enticing match-up surely awaits, and with little over 24 hours to go until kick-off Irons boss Lopetegui sat down with the gathered press to discuss the fallout from the weekend, looking to get back on track, and his approach for the visit to the East Midlands.
Adapting to a quick turnaround
The team is OK. It’s a quick turnaround after Saturday and we have a big challenge tomorrow in Leicester. The team is working to be ready for tomorrow because today is matchday minus one, and we have to be ready to go and try to bounce back.
We have to adapt for each game. In this case it’s a quick turnaround, but we are fully focused on the game and we’re not thinking about other things.
Looking forward rather than back
I prefer to look ahead to the next game, rather than look back at what’s happened before. The last match is in the past, in the same way the Newcastle game was before we played Arsenal.
We were disappointed with the last match, and the score. I explained my thoughts on the first half and the game as a whole after the match on Saturday, and now we are putting all our focus on the next game. We have to be ready for the next challenge.
A new man in the opposition dugout
First of all, I think Ruud [van Nistelrooy] is a very good manager - he’s shown that at the teams he’s worked at, and in the Premier League with Manchester United. I wish him all the best, but after our match for sure!
We have to be ready because I am sure it is going to be a very tough and demanding match. Sometimes there is an extra step and extra energy about a team when a new coach arrives.
Leicester also have very good players, and King Power Stadium is always somewhere that demands a lot, so we are going to need to show the best version of ourselves to compete there and come away with a result.
Getting his team ready
It’s always a challenge [when you’re facing a new manager], and you have to match all the things such as the extra energy when a new manager comes in. I know the kind of environment and match we’re going to be going into, and we have to be ready for it.
I am not in his [van Nistelrooy’s] mind, so I don’t know what he’s thinking about. It’s not in our control. It’s true that one of the difficulties you have when you play a team with a new manager is that you can’t look back at what his ideas might be, but that’s why you have to put the focus on being ready for any and every situation. I prefer to put the focus on the things we have to do, and to be ready to fight tomorrow.
