Dodgy defending and a dour demeanour - what Julen Lopetegui needs to change to get West Ham winning

Is it too early in the season for a match to be a ‘must-win’ already? Perhaps, but if there is one manager in particular need of a result ahead of the October international break, it’s West Ham United’s Julen Lopetegui. Just a few months ago, his appointment was widely praised, as was the East London club’s recruitment over the summer – but his reign is already taking on the shape of a short one.

The Spaniard has managed just one win in his first six Premier League matches with West Ham and has seen his side dumped out of the EFL Cup in spectacularly unceremonious fashion when they were thrashed 5-1 by Liverpool. Many of the much-trumpeted summer signings have scarcely seen the pitch. It’s all rather bleak, and if the Hammers fail to take three points when a newly-promoted and winless Ipswich Town side visit the London Stadium then the questions over the likely length of Lopetegui’s tenure will become more pointed and urgent.

On the one hand, the specific results haven’t been all that painful on paper, given the challenges their early-season schedule have put in front of them. They have lost all three Premier League home games, yes, but Aston Villa, Manchester City and Chelsea are tough teams to host. And away from home, they have beaten Crystal Palace and drawn with Brentford and a high-flying Fulham team. None of those results are particularly troubling on paper – but the way that they have lost them has been.

Lopetegui brings with him the reputation of a strong defensive coach whose sides have conceded less than a goal a game over the course of more than 400 matches, but West Ham have been all over the show at the back, especially when faced with sides who can counter-attack at pace, and have shipped 15 goals in eight matches.

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It isn’t easy, on paper, to offer seemingly endless time and space to opposing attacks both out wide and through the middle, but West Ham have made it work – just look at Nicolas Jackson’s two goals in Chelsea’s 3-0 win by way of a perfect example. Equally, they have made something of a speciality of leaving opposing forwards generously unmarked when the ball comes into the box, and while Brentford may well have made a habit of scoring in the opening minute, it’s unlikely that Bryan Mbeumo could believe how much room he had near the penalty spot last weekend.

In the eventual draw with Brentford, West Ham did at least improve and put in a slightly stronger performance, although the bar they were clearing in that regard was barely off the floor. There were moments of fluidity moving forward, especially in the build-up to Tomáš Souček’s equaliser, and despite struggling to get hold of the ball for large periods, their two banks of defenders did largely keep it tight enough to prevent Brentford from earning any more easy opportunities.

The fact that one of West Ham’s headline signings, Jean-Clair Todibo, was finally given a league start probably helped. Mysteriously benched for the early part of the season alongside other new arrivals such as Crysencio Summerville, Todibo will hope to strike up a more empathic connection with Max Kilman than Konstantinos Mavropanos managed. The two seldom seemed to have much sense of where the other was when the opposition was coming at them in the first few weeks of the campaign. Todibo does at least have a little more pace in his legs, something else which has been sorely lacking in the back four.

It isn’t just the defence which has been all at sea, however. West Ham have also struggled for balance in attack, with players often getting condensed in central areas and little width on offer. The right side of the field, in particular, has often been entirely empty when West Ham are in possession, leading them to effectively bottle themselves up. The cute little backheels and close-quarter passes on display against Brentford were pleasing on the eye, but also arguably a symptom of a team that is all but tripping over itself.

This level of disorganisation and sense of a team lacking shape and structure is not typical of Lopetegui’s teams, and he is experienced and capable enough to correct it, but that process could take time he may not be afforded should West Ham lose a fourth consecutive home game on Saturday.

Ipswich have yet to win in the Premier League, but they look better equipped than their fellow new promotees to make a good fist of it. Between Liam Delap, Jack Clarke and Sammie Szmodics, they have players who can score goals and exploit space if it’s offered to them in spades as it has been to other visitors to the London Stadium. And while their defence has made a few ricks so far, West Ham have not been stretching teams to any serious degree. West Ham fans may see a great opportunity to finally pick three points up at home, but those making the journey down from Suffolk on Saturday may well be licking their lips too.

It doesn’t help Lopetegui’s chances of making a connection with the fans that he doesn’t cut an especially charismatic figure. There is no sense of blood and thunder when things go wrong, more the look of a slightly defeated science teacher trying to cope with an unruly class. That rather downtrodden demeanour undersells a sharp coach who has done some excellent work at a few different clubs, but when things start to go wrong it can make him feel less convincing than he probably is in reality.

West Ham’s rocky start to the season will be shrugged off quickly if they get organised and if individual players start hitting the high notes. We haven’t seen the best of anyone in a claret and blue shirt so far, and perhaps only Mohammed Kudus has even come close. For now, however, Lopetegui just needs a couple of wins to give himself so breathing room and some grace and time with which to get to the bottom of a deeply indifferent start. Lose to Ipswich and that grace may be in very short supply indeed.