Potter must work magic to rebuild hapless Hammers

Lopetegui's exit leaves behind team without identity or resilience, though he is not solely to blame for shambles

- Jacob Steinberg

Julen Lopetegui was always the wrong choice. West Ham were warned against appointing him last May, but they pressed ahead and have paid the price. They are seven points above the bottom three after spending more than £100m last summer, the football has been drab, supporters are disengaged and the only surprise is that it has taken this long for West Ham to part with the Spaniard.

So much for a fresh start. West Ham were ready to move on from David Moyes, whose reign ran out of steam last season, but they have made a spectacular hash of the succession. Lopetegui was not the coach to oversee a style revolution.

West Ham were taken in by a deceptively strong CV. Lopetegui was fired by Spain on the eve of the 2018 World Cup, lasted 14 games at Real Madrid and is not remembered fondly at Sevilla despite winning the Europa League in 2020. They were told he had a history of falling out with people. It was not long before they realised their mistake.

It has been a disastrous appointment. West Ham have mustered few decent performances under Lopetegui, whose attempts to introduce an approach based around a high line, possession and inverted full-backs never convinced. They have been slow, incapable of pressing and vulnerable to transitions. Players have struggled to understand their head coach's messaging.

There was surprise at the start of the season with Lopetegui's emphasis on long switches of play. Sources wondered whether he was so different to Moyes, who was criticised for his counterpunching tactics, and the humiliations have piled up. Awful at the back, West Ham have conceded three goals or more on nine occasions this season.

Somehow, though, Lopetegui hung on after losing 3-1 to lowly Leicester last month. Sérgio Conceição was discussed and Graham Potter was close to taking over, only for West Ham to dither and waste more time.