Julen Lopetegui lasted nine months at Wolverhampton Wanderers, 10 weeks at Real Madrid and, prior to Monday’s trip to Newcastle, looked in real danger of adding a short reign at West Ham to his CV.
But the Hammers produced their best performance of the season at the perfect time, deservedly winning 2-0 at St James’ Park to move six points clear of the relegation zone.
Prior to the match, former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison said Lopetegui was “the most under pressure manager in the Premier League”, and while that pressure has not been wiped away, it has significantly eased.
“A huge result for the manager,” ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports.
“I did not see how West Ham could win this game, they have to use this as a springboard now.”
A ‘priceless’ win for Lopetegui that gives hope of a turnaround
Ex-Spain boss Lopetegui arrived at West Ham in the summer tasked with moving the Hammers away from the pragmatic football played under David Moyes, who left at the end of last season, and introducing a more attacking style.
But in Moyes’ final campaign they reached the Europa League quarter-finals and finished ninth in the Premier League. The minimum target for Lopetegui, therefore, will be to improve on that.
He was allowed to spend in the region of £125m on improving the quality of his squad but, prior to Monday, there was little sign of that layout paying dividends.
The attacking football West Ham fans hoped Lopetegui would introduce was rarely there to be seen as they struggled to score goals – their tally of 13 in their first 11 games was among the lowest in the Premier League with only Everton, Crystal Palace and bottom club Southampton scoring fewer.
But against Newcastle they showed glimpses of what they are capable of going forwards, attacking with pace and in numbers while they were clinical with their chances.
The West Ham team played with a confidence not always seen this season and as they passed the ball around in the final few minutes there were shouts of “ole” from the away end, something few of their fans would have expected to happen on their journey to the north east.
“Rewarding the 3,000 West Ham fans who made the 600-mile round trip to Newcastle, knowing they would not get home until the early hours, is priceless for Julen Lopetegui,” BBC Sport’s chief football news reporter Simon Stone said.
“Any club’s away supporters are the true barometer of backing for a manager and after the three-goal hammering at Nottingham Forest three weeks ago, they were really not happy.
“West Ham delivered their best performance of the season at St James’ Park. This was a deserved win, unlike their last success, against Manchester United, which even club officials accepted was only possible because the visitors failed to take a ridiculous number of excellent first-half chances.
“The Hammers were solid enough at the back. Carlos Soler was excellent in midfield on only his second Premier League start. Lucas Paqueta was something like his old self, Jarrod Bowen was a threat and Michail Antonio a battering ram in attack.”
How much has changed since Moyes’ departure?
West Ham fans will have hoped the arrival of Lopetegui would have emulated the impact Unai Emery had at Aston Villa.
His start has perhaps been more like that of Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth. He too endured a slow beginning as he tried to implement his style of football but eventually it took hold.
Lopetegui and the West Ham fans will know its too soon to suggest this has been a corner turned.
Despite this win, they are still averaging fewer points and goals per game than Moyes managed in his final campaign, which saw some fans turn against him.
West Ham averaged 1.58 goals per game last term but that has dropped to 1.25 this season.
But defensively there has been improvement, with 1.73 goals conceded per game this term compared to 1.95 in 2023-24.
“We have to build as a team if we are to work and know what we want to do,” Lopetegui told Sky Sports after Monday’s win.
“I think about the play. That is the thing that we try to do. We have a lot of matches that we need to do and I believe in the future this team is going to be able to do the things and show the style as a team.”
December to prove crucial for West Ham’s ambitions?
A loss for West Ham at Newcastle would have left their fans looking nervously over their shoulder but now they are looking up.
The Hammers are just three points off the top 10 and, although they face a tough test at the weekend with the visit of Arsenal, they then head into a favourable run of fixtures in December.
They face managerless Leicester on 3 December, before games that they will see as winnable against Wolves and Southampton.
“We have to take responsibility and do our work and we haven’t done that to a high enough ability this year,” West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen told Sky Sports.
“[Beating Newcastle] was a real big moment and this is a really big turning point in our season.”