What Wolves star Pedro Neto has said should seriously worry West Ham about incoming new manager Julen Lopetegui.
When Ruben Amorim flew to London for talks with West Ham a few weeks ago, the reaction was remarkable.
Rarely has such excitement and universal agreement washed over the Hammers fanbase.
This was the man most agreed was exactly the type of ambitious appointment West Ham needed.
A coveted, innovative and modern young manager to take West Ham to a different level in terms of the club’s style of play, philosophy and approach.
But that dream faded and died and West Ham moved down to what we’re led to believe was the club’s second choice target, ex Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui.
West Ham will officially unveil a former Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla manager as their new boss this week.
But you wouldn’t know it from the reaction, both among fans and the football media.
Wolves’ best player delivers damning indictment on Lopetegui
Many Hammers fans are unconvinced by Lopetegui. Although judgement has been clouded by his very negative press since walking out on Wolverhampton Wanderers on the eve of the season just gone.
In the wider football press, bar his compatriot Guillem Balague and a handful of others, the verdict has been scathing.
Lopetegui ‘won over’ David Sullivan when the pair met for his interview, as exclusively revealed to Hammers News by Graeme Bailey long before his now imminent appointment.
Now Lopetegui must win over a growing legion of sceptics, many of whom are among the West Ham fanbase.
Supporters will back Lopetegui. But they will expect to see improvements in the style of play and philosophy early on in his tenure.
Key to that will be winning over and improving West Ham’s players and how they approach games.
So what Wolves star Pedro Neto has said should worry West Ham about Lopetegui.
What Neto has said should worry West Ham about Lopetegui
Neto is hands down Wolverhampton Wanderers’ best player. He had been a revelation this season until an injury which has kept him out until the season finale at Liverpool.
The Portuguese attacker has been speaking about his return and the season as whole.
And his glowing tribute to Gary O’Neil is a damning indictment of the man he replaced, West Ham’s new boss Lopetegui.
“We have to thank him a lot (O’Neil) because most of the players have improved individually,” Neto told The Telegraph.
“There was an unbelievable improvement after he came in and we should be thankful for him. The little details made a big difference.
“We cannot be happy with 14th place but the start to the season was how it was. The performances this season showed we can do more.”
Perhaps West Ham should be hiring O’Neil, not Lopetegui after reading that.
It’s one thing for Neto to praise O’Neil. What player doesn’t praise their current boss after all.
Lopetegui arrives under cloud of negativity
But to make a point of saying what a massive improvement there has been since former Hammer O’Neil took over from Lopetegui is another thing entirely.
There has been very little to pierce the cloud of negativity surrounding this West Ham appointment.
We’ve tried to latch on to glowing assessments from Balague about the 57-year-old.
That’s despite AC Milan withdrawing a contract offer that had been six months in the making when their fans launched a petition against his appointment.
The stream of those casting doubt over whether Lopetegui is the right man for the job is swelling, though.
Ex West Ham captain Nigel Reo-Coker says Lopetegui is ‘the wrong hire’ for his old club.
Stan Collymore has told the Hammers there are far better options out there and labelled the incoming boss a ‘disgrace’.
Club legend Julian Dicks has voiced serious concerns over Lopetegui.
Paul Merson has stated the Spaniard could be at West Ham for 25 years and not achieve what Moyes has.
And Troy Deeney has made a shocking 10-game prediction about Lopetegui.