West Ham United boss Julen Lopetegui insists he and his team are working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure they are able to bring a two-game losing run to an end when they host Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Monday night.
The Hammers go into the clash under the London Stadium lights sat 14th in the standings, having fallen at the hands of Arsenal and Leicester City within the last week, in the wake of an impressive victory away at Newcastle United.
Hoping for a return to the sort of form that yielded the full share of the spoils at St James’ Park towards the end of November, Lopetegui discussed the lessons learnt from their most recent clash, against the Foxes, during his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
On a difficult night at King Power Stadium, West Ham were only able to convert one chance late on despite producing a record 31 goal attempts, and the Head Coach highlighted the need to avoid conceding early goals, as well as improving in areas all over the pitch.
While he emphasised his full belief in his players, Lopetegui stressed his desire to provide the Irons supporters with a positive display against Wolves, who make the trip to the capital as one of the three teams in the relegation zone.
After a torrid start to the campaign, that delivered seven defeats from their opening eight fixtures, former Hammer Gary O’Neil’s men showed signs of improvement during a four-game unbeaten run, that involved back-to-back wins over Southampton and Fulham last month.
Two further losses, at home to Bournemouth and away at Everton, in the last six days have increased the heat once again, and Wanderers will likely see this match as key to easing the threat of the drop, and getting back on track.
With a fiery atmosphere expected, a mouth-watering affair surely awaits, and ahead of kick-off, Lopetegui sat down with the gathered press to chat about the fallout from midweek, continuing the hard graft, and his thoughts on a side he took charge of 27 times between 2022 and 2023.
Lessons from Leicester defeat
In the last match, it was not enough to have 31 shots. We have to keep going in that area, but also we have to avoid the first goal. We need to improve these little details, because they are very important.
An early goal for example can completely change a game, so we have to improve in this kind of situation because they’re key to the final result. Despite us doing a lot of good things on Tuesday, it wasn’t enough because of these little details.
We had a lot of shots, and we have to try and improve that in order to score goals. We have to improve on all of the small details that feed into one match, and hopefully that will help us with results going forward.
Always we are able to create more chances, but we have to defend well too at the same time. Clean sheets always help you be more competitive, so we have to work hard on improving details in all areas of the pitch, and be better defensively while keeping our threat in attack, in order to be successful.
Hard work continues
It is true we are in a tough moment, but we have to try and take advantage of the time we have between matches, do our work and try to develop and improve in order to compete in our next challenge, on Monday night.
The players have shown fantastic commitment. I don’t have anything to say against my players. I accept all the responsibility and pressure that has come from our disappointing form - that’s why I’m the coach. The players have to be demanding of themselves, but we believe in them.
I am very committed to my work, and I believe we are going to change the situation. The only way I know how to improve is to work, and to believe that you can always do things better. That’s why we continue to work to be ready for Monday, for a difficult challenge.
Wolves promise another tough test
We have an important challenge on Monday against a good team that probably deserves more points than they actually have.
I have seen their matches, and they are a good team, with good players and a good coach. So, we have to be focused and ready to answer this test, in order to give our fans a good day.
I understand football, and I understand my aims and responsibilities as the coach. In football, you have to accept the good moments and the harder moments. I know Monday is a very important game, but in the same way I think it is a big opportunity for us to show what we’re really about. We have to believe in ourselves and try to put the focus on the things we can control, all while showing respect for the opponent.
Familiar opponents for the boss and Kilman
Max is one of our players facing a new challenge this season, playing for a new team. Each team is different, and I think that so far he has done very well. He is helping us - he’s a good professional and a good player, and we are very happy with him.
Always, as with every player, we want him to be demanding of himself. Max is the kind of player who wants to do as well as he possibly can, and I think for sure he’s going to achieve that level and be a big part of us getting to where we want to be.
Back on home soil
We’re looking forward to being back at home, but I don’t think that makes it any easier. We are talking about the Premier League, and there are no easy games. In football, the most difficult match is your next match.
We have to respect the job in hand, and the opponent. We have to be ready to do our best, we have to understand the challenge, and we have to go out there and compete to come out with a result.
Message to the supporters
From my perspective, the fans are always right, and for sure, so far this season they have given us a lot more than we have given them. We have to change that, and that is what we are working to do.
I would say first to the fans, thank you for your support. Secondly, we are going to change this situation. I know they are going to support the players a lot and stay with us, because always their energy is amazing. We are going to need that energy again on Monday, because it does give the players an extra lift.
