Julen Lopetegui has apologised to the fans once again, this time for West Ham’s thrashing against Tottenham.

Heading into the London derby, Julen Lopetegui would have been hoping that his side could build some momentum off the back of their 4-1 win over Ipswich.

Despite some promising signs in the first-half, the game ultimately was won comfortably by Spurs, and it has made fans furious. It’s not just the fact that they were beaten due to a poor second-half performance, but it’s the fact that there is no identity in the team and nothing to suggest things will get any better.

Obviously, the Spaniard was far from happy

with the result, and he knows that things must improve. “We are very disappointed to lose the match, the three points, and for our fans too. I think it was a match where we started well and did good things. We were able to score and to have other clear chances, so it was a pity that we suffered their goal before half time, but this can happen,” he told the official site.

“But in the second half, after the second goal, we can do much better than we did to avoid these moments for sure because all our players knew what their players were going to do. We didn’t defend well. After the second goal, we had a lot of time to be competitive and to draw or even win the match, and I think the worst thing today was the eight minutes when we were not competitive.”

“We wanted to make the substitutions at 2-1, but everything happened very fast. It’s true that even before it went 2-1 that we were thinking about changing the players, but things in football can happen very fast, and it was a bad moment for us.”

“Despite not getting the substitutes on, I think we can do better with the players on the pitch. It’s about keeping the focus and the right mentality.”

Although the passion is something fans love to see, Mohammed Kudus’ moment of head loss is something that can’t be condoned, especially considering that he now misses the next 3 matches. Lopetegui was understanding of why the winger was so angry, but he urged his players to show more composure. “I think that Mo [Mohammed Kudus] had a good match in the first half above all,” the gaffer stated. It was a pity that he didn’t stay on the pitch until the end because, despite that one moment happening, we have to avoid these kinds of moments It is understandable to be hurt in this moment, but the players have to control this situation because the red card is not a good thing for him, for us, or for the Club.

Not for the first time this season, Lopetegui ended his post-match interview by apologising to the fans. “We’re very sorry to the fans, but we will look to put it right. I think when you’ve lost, you have to be disappointed because, for sure, we are very sorry to our fans, but on Monday we have to change our mentality and be ready to work hard ahead of the next challenge. I think that we have a lot of work to do in front of us.”