Evening Standard
·19 October 2024
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Yahoo sportsEvening Standard
·19 October 2024
West Ham took the lead against Spurs but collapsed in alarming fashion at the back
Julen Lopetegui admitted he needs to improve his communication to his players, after West Ham conceded three goals in eight minutes on the way to a heavy 4-1 defeat at Tottenham.
Mohammed Kudus scored the opening goal for West Ham but was later sent off for a shove to the face of Micky van de Ven in a match where the Hammers showed ill-discipline both in the defensive and the literal sense.
Defeat saw West Ham fall to 14th in the Premier League after a disappointing start to the season under new manager Lopetegui, whose side have won only two of their opening eight league games of the campaign.
Quizzed about the second-half period when his side shipped three goals in such a short period of time, Lopetegui said: “For sure, we are concerned about this. This is what a coach should be concerned about, and today has been a bad thing.
“It’s one thing that we can improve. Despite the fact we are playing maybe one of the best teams in the Premier League in the attacking phase, I think that we can do better in the defensive phase. We have to do better.
“Maybe I have to improve, too, my translation with my players, for sure.”
The 58-year-old added: “The first half was interesting. We did good things. We scored and had chances to score more.
“After 2-1, the worst thing for me is not being able to keep the mentality in this moment. You are losing 2-1 but you have a lot of time in front of you to draw or to win the match. That’s why, for me, we have to improve one important step — to be able to handle these bad moments in another way.”
The Hammers host Manchester United next Sunday at the London Stadium, where they prevailed 2-0 under David Moyes’s stewardship last season.