Former West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui hits back at claims he is to blame for Graham Potter’s poor start at West Ham. 

After Monday’s defeat to Newcastle, Potter said that the Hammers’ attack has been struggling because he has had to focus on fixing the defence since arriving in East London. He suggested that work on the attack had been neglected to prioritise fixing the defensive mess Lopetegui left behind.

The former Brighton and Chelsea boss doubled down on those comments in his pre-Everton press conference, pointing out that Lopetegui left behind the fourth-worst defence in the Premier League.

In a recent interview after Potter’s comments, Julen Lopetegui defended his record with the Hammers, saying he, too, inherited a mess. He also blamed injuries and red cards for the team’s struggles in the first half of the season.

“Yes (I was surprised to be sacked), because we had the commitment of the players,” Lopetegui told AS.

“We were in a time of change. We accepted it. West Ham is a club with different shareholders, and we had a very good relationship with all of them. No one told us we were in danger.”

He also pointed out that not much has changed in terms of results and points accumulated since Potter replaced him, however, I think all West Ham fans can see we are a lot more solid under Potter. Even though the football has been boring, we would all rather Potter in charge than Loperegui.

After almost three months at the club and nothing to play for the rest of the season, we need to see something that will make us fans excited to have Graham Potter going into next season. We all saw the quality attacking football he got Brighton playing. We all want to see glimpses of that as soon as possible.