Julen Lopetegui’s position as head coach of West Ham United is set to be reviewed if they suffer defeat to Everton this weekend, according to a report from The Guardian. 

After an underwhelming start to his time in East London, the Spaniard could lose his job as his position will be reviewed if they lose at the London Stadium on Saturday. However, there is hope that the former Real Madrid manager will turn the situation around, he is under increasing pressure after a poor start and another setback would leave him hanging by a thread.

In the past few weeks, there have been mixed reports regarding Lopetegui’s future, some outlets have suggested there is no chance of him losing his job before the new year, but it now looks like a defeat to Sean Dyche’s Everton could be the final straw. After last weekend’s humbling defeat to Nottingham Forest, the club is reportedly hugely alarmed to be only six points above the bottom three.

Something that could put the Hammers off of sacking Lopetegui is the lack of outstanding options available. They have previously been lukewarm on Graham Potter, the former Chelsea manager, and the level of their interest in the former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic remains unclear. They remain the most likely options as they are currently out of work.

The Irons are believed to have made background checks on Sebastian Hoeness, Kasper Hjulmand and Roger Schmidt. Hoeness would be an excellent and exciting option for West Ham and their fans, however, this could be an unrealistic and expensive option as Stuttgart are currently playing Champions League football. Lopetegui could be given time, simply due to the lack of quality replacements.