On Monday morning, the sight of Julen Lopetegui being the first to arrive at West Ham United’s training ground did not surprise staff.
The head coach is usually the first one at Rush Green. He will park his car, head towards his office and see the motivational question on his wall: “What are you willing to do today to be better than yesterday?” Those words will resonate even more following the disappointing 3-0 loss to Chelsea.
“I get here early and I go home at night,” said Lopetegui ahead of the Carabao Cup game against Liverpool. “My wife is very happy! We have work to do and when you are managing a new project like this, you have big ambitions and expectations. We’re putting our all into it. I love to be here.”
Last Saturday’s loss made it perhaps less easy to love. Afterwards, Lopetegui apologised to fans. He took the blame for substituting Guido Rodriguez in the 37th minute and expressed his desire for more consistency from his team. The players also took a portion of the blame, with captain Jarrod Bowen admitting they were never in the game, while summer signing Maximilian Kilman said the loss needs to be a wake-up call.
It has been a tough start to the season for West Ham. The players were booed after the loss to Chelsea, they have taken four points from…
