Julen Lopetegui‘s credentials have come under fire by pundits and fans alike after the first five games of the Premier League season.
The Spaniard has overseen just one league win for West Ham so far, along with a win in the Carabao Cup.
Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea led to many asking serious questions about his ability to lead the Hammers beyond where his predecessor David Moyes had taken the club during the last four years.
Many impatient fans have begun to voice their frustration, while pundits have already begun smugly hinting that perhaps they were right to question the club’s decision to part ways with Moyes when they did.
But one player in the squad has come out to defend his manager following Saturday’s London derby defeat, and insists the squad is prepared to eventually turn things around and start picking up positive results.
Andy Irving made his debut for the club in the Chelsea defeat, coming on for Lucas Paqueta in the 72nd minute, and he immediately impressed with a solid midfielder cameo, which could eventually lead to an international call up for Scotland.
And while Irving has admitted the performance wasn’t good enough, he and his teammates are behind Lopetegui and the ideas he’s trying to instil into the squad.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Irving said: Chelsea are a good team with a lot of strengths and quality.
“Their goals were really good, at key moments, and we weren’t able to get ourselves going or keep ourselves in the game, which was frustrating.
“But the ideas the coaches are trying to implement are really good, and we’re doing our best to make it work. It just takes time, and I’m sure we can definitely turn things around into a more positive situation.
“Every game in the Premier League is tough and we know we’re going to face challenges, but the quality of our squad will shine through.”
And Irving even named the Carabao Cup 3rd round trip to Anfield to face Liverpool as good opportunity to start putting things right.
“Liverpool is a tough place to go, but we believe we can turn it around at Anfield,” he added.
“Hopefully I can be involved and make that happen again.”
