On Monday morning, the sight of Julen Lopetegui being the first to arrive at West Ham United’s training ground did not surprise staff.
The head coach is usually the first one at Rush Green. He will park his car, head towards his office and see the motivational question on his wall: “What are you willing to do today to be better than yesterday?” Those words will resonate even more following the disappointing 3-0 loss to Chelsea.
“I get here early and I go home at night,” said Lopetegui ahead of the Carabao Cup game against Liverpool. “My wife is very happy! We have work to do and when you are managing a new project like this, you have big ambitions and expectations. We’re putting our all into it. I love to be here.”
Last Saturday’s loss made it perhaps less easy to love. Afterwards, Lopetegui apologised to fans. He took the blame for substituting Guido Rodriguez in the 37th minute and expressed his desire for more consistency from his team. The players also took a portion of the blame, with captain Jarrod Bowen admitting they were never in the game, while summer signing Maximilian Kilman said the loss needs to be a wake-up call.
It has been a tough start to the season for West Ham. The players were booed after the loss to Chelsea, they have taken four points from five league games, and they have suffered three consecutive home defeats for the first time in the club’s history.
Yet the players were in good spirits as they arrived for training on Tuesday afternoon. Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek arrived together having greeted two autograph hunters. The duo were closely followed by Luis Guilherme, Lucas Paqueta and Emerson Palmieri, who were embraced by Alphonse Areola. Mohammed Kudus could be seen smiling with a non-playing staff member.
But that togetherness off the field needs to be matched on it.
Summer signing Rodriguez and Edson Alvarez have not yet gelled as a midfield partnership. Their lack of pace was exploited in the last two games. A possible solution could be playing Carlos Soler, the season-long loan signing from Paris Saint-Germain, alongside Alvarez.
Soler is versatile and can play as a central midfielder, winger or as a No 10. Soucek is another option, having replaced Rodriguez against Chelsea. The Czech Republic international has registered one goal across six appearances. Andy Irving, who made his debut at the weekend, has an outside chance of starting.
The biggest concern is the defence, with Lopetegui’s side conceding first in games against Aston Villa, Manchester City, Fulham and Chelsea. Following the summer departures of Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd, Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos have been the preferred defensive partnership.
In the first half against Chelsea, Kilman and Mavropanos played a high defensive line, which the west London side exploited. If the pair are going to play together going forward, there needs to be a better understanding not just among the back line, but also between the back line and midfield.
Perhaps they are playing with one eye on Jean-Clair Todibo, 24, who joined from Nice on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy for £34million ($44.7m). He has been the third-choice centre-back up to now and he remains in search of his second start since the win over Bournemouth.
Lopetegui is easing Todibo’s integration into the starting XI due to his lack of fitness. On July 19, the defender played in a friendly for Nice against Spanish side CD Leganes, but once Nice were engaged in talks with Juventus and West Ham, Todibo did not play for them again.
It was 29 days until his next appearance as a late substitute in the opening-day loss to Aston Villa. Lopetegui’s decision to withdraw the defender at half-time against Bournemouth was also due to fitness, but Todibo is in contention to start against Liverpool.
Similarly, things are not settled with the strikers. Niclas Fullkrug, the £27million signing from Borussia Dortmund, has returned to training. The 31-year-old forward missed the last two league games having sustained a calf injury while on international duty with Germany.
Fullkrug will seek a starting berth ahead of Michail Antonio and Danny Ings as he nears full fitness. His sole start was against Bournemouth and Lopetegui is confident his impending return will lead to improvement.
“Fullkrug is an experienced player,” said Lopetegui. “It is true that he doesn’t have continuity because when he started being better, he had a little injury with the German national team. It was a pity because he was very close to playing with us. But I think he is going to bring us his experience. For sure, he is going to help us to be a stronger team.”
Guilherme is another big summer signing yet to make his mark, having arrived for £25.5million from Brazilian side Palmeiras. The 18-year-old winger is still awaiting his first appearance and is adapting to living in a new country. He featured for Mark Robson’s under-21s last night and got on the scoresheet.
“He is working well,” said Lopetegui recently. “He is a young player and his adaptation is step by step. It’s all about timing. I think he will develop into a good player, but now he has team-mates who are ahead of him. I am very happy with his attitude and, with that mindset, he will have chances. He will be able to develop into the player we know he can be.”
West Ham have games against Liverpool, Brentford, Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United to come before the end of next month. They have time yet to do what teams like Brighton, Chelsea and Liverpool have done this season: make a positive start with a new manager. To do that, Lopetegui needs to get his players to gel.
(Top photo: Julen Lopetegui; by Charlotte Wilson/Offside via Getty Images)
