West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui has said he cannot control speculation over his position after a surprise win at Newcastle that may have strengthened his prospects of staying at the club.
Reports before the Hammers’ 2-0 victory at St James’ Park suggested Lopetegui’s future would be decided by the two games after the international break, with the Guardian claiming that former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic was being considered as a potential replacement, alongside “internal checks” by West Ham on Kasper Hjulmand, Roger Schmidt and Sebastian Hoeness.
“My life is like this – I am a coach,” Lopetegui said after his side’s third win in 12 matches since his arrival in July. “We don’t think about this; we think about what we can do to improve the team, knowing that we have a lot of things to improve. The only thing that is under our control is to be able to play football.”
Tomas Soucek’s first-half header and Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s strike after the break gave West Ham victory away for the first time since beating Crystal Palace 2-0 on August 24.
Their triumph at Selhurst Park was their only win in their first six league games under the Spaniard, who has previously managed Porto, Spain, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Wolves and oversaw a significant summer spending spree.
“Our big challenge is to be a good, strong team.” 💪
Julen Lopetegui says there’s no point thinking about the long-term future after West Ham’s 2-0 win at Newcastle 💭 pic.twitter.com/t8pWgNscNk
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 25, 2024
Newcastle vs West Ham: ‘We have to believe’
“We are happy for the players because they need this kind of feeling as a team, to believe that we are able to do well as a team,” Lopetegui said after West Ham moved six points clear of the relegation zone and four behind sixth-placed Tottenham.
“They showed that they are able to fight for things, that we are able to have this level. After you win, you can lose – this is the Premier League. But we have to believe in ourselves and that we are able to win these kinds of matches. I am happy for the fans too, because Newcastle is so far from London.”
Right-back Wan-Bissaka netted his first goal for the club since signing from Manchester United for £15 million in August.
The 26-year-old will be part of a defence targeting a third consecutive clean sheet when fourth-placed Arsenal arrive on Saturday (5.30pm GMT) at the London Stadium, where West Ham are three games unbeaten.
🗣️ “It’s just a really interesting run that you don’t see full-backs make”
A closer look at Aaron Wan Bissaka’s goal vs Newcastle 🕷️ pic.twitter.com/K8tVUPio7T
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 25, 2024
Wan-Bissaka: ‘We need to push on’
“As the ball came to me, I wanted to just hit it as soon as possible,” Wan-Bissaka said of his goal, speaking to the club’s official site. “That’s what I did and thankfully it went in off the post. I enjoyed the celebrations as well.
“I feel like a result like this has been coming. We’ve been training very hard – especially over the break – and we came [to Newcastle] and showed it. We will head into the game against Arsenal on Saturday with confidence and continue to play together as a team.
“He [Lopetegui] has told us that is just the start, and we need to push on from this result from here and keep on going.”
