Julen Lopetegui has suffered a slow start to his West Ham career, and the board already regret their decision to sack David Moyes, according to the club’s recently-departed scout.
Mick Brown, who worked closely with Moyes at the London Stadium and left at the same time in the summer, explained that the boss’ success at helping the club to strengthen and progress will be missed, as he was critical of the decision to part ways at the end of last season.
Lopetegui, meanwhile, has managed just one win from their opening six league games since taking over and is facing growing pressure from the stands.
Following a 1-1 draw with Brentford last time out, the Hammers have tallied five points from their six games, and fans are already calling for the manager’s head.
Moyes was dismissed following groans from the crowd about the style of play despite results on the pitch, and many are already voicing concerns about the lack of improvement under the new regime.
As well as their record of just one win in six, the Hammers have scored more than one goal in a game just once across eight attempts in all competitions.
While there is a belief that results will need to drastically improve in the coming weeks, there have already been grumbles about Lopetegui’s style of play.
West Ham board regret David Moyes sack call as Julen Lopetegui pressure grows
On 20 September that the board were not considering parting ways with Lopetegui so early in the season.
However, Brown, who has also held chief scout roles at Man United, Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers among other top clubs, has insisted they are already regretting the decision to see Moyes out of the door last season after this year’s early-season dip in form.
When asked about the board’s stance on Lopetegui’s future: “It’s always a difficult one trying to judge what the owners and directors will do.
“Unfortunately, their knowledge of the game is not great.
“They’ve got things right a lot of the time, but they’ve made many, many mistakes as well.
“David Moyes was brought in to save them from relegation, which he did, and then he took them to seventh in the league and won a European competition.
“Apparently, though, that wasn’t good enough. I think he was treated appallingly.
“Having made the decision to sack him, I heard there were times when the board regretted that, but hoped they’d get away with it.
“There are a lot of people who’ve paid for it – but not the right people. That’s normal.”
