West Ham Back Julen Lopetegui with Second Chance Amid Mounting Pressure

Julen Lopetegui has been given a temporary reprieve as West Ham manager, with the club's hierarchy deciding to back him for Monday's crucial clash against Wolves. However, despite the £120m spent on new signings last summer, Lopetegui is still under pressure after a poor start to the season, and his future remains uncertain.

West Ham have been considering alternative candidates, with former Chelsea and Brighton manager Graham Potter reportedly interested in returning to Premier League management. Porto's Sergio Conceição and ex-Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzić have also been linked to the job.

Potter, who has been out of work since being dismissed by Chelsea, could be a contender, but West Ham are keen to give Lopetegui a fair chance, having hired him just six months ago. The outcome of the Wolves game could play a significant role in determining whether Lopetegui remains in charge, as the club is keen to avoid a relegation battle.

The board met on Thursday and chose to keep Lopetegui in place for now. However, fan unrest is growing, as seen during Monday's defeat to Leicester, when chants of "You're getting sacked in the morning" were directed at him.

Lopetegui, hired on a two-year contract with high expectations of restoring the club to European competition, has faced challenges, including a reported altercation with defender Jean-Clair Todibo during the Arsenal loss. Despite the mounting pressure, Lopetegui has remained focused on his job, determined to turn things around.

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"The only thing I am worried about now is to go in on Wednesday for the training session and to prepare for the next challenge. We have one month of a lot of matches and I'm sure with this attitude we will achieve much more points. Today it's hard to say this," he told BBC Sport.

"There are days when it is easy, today it was not easy. We are very frustrated but because we deserved much more. It’s not easy, because we deserved much more. We had 31 shots, many, many chances and we didn’t score.

"We have to do better and avoid this stat. We had to take more risks in the second half and a good team will take advantage of this. We have to be more effective as normally when you are able to create this number of chances you are going to score one.

"We are very frustrated for the fans and players because they didn’t deserve to lose. But we [lost] and we have to recover. The energy and belief for the next challenge is knowing this is the way to be able to change the situation."