West Ham v Wolves: Lopetegui or O’Neill – who is closest to getting the sack?

Could Lopetegui’s final West Ham game come against his former club? The Spaniard left Wolves on the eve of last season after being frustrated at not being able to sign anybody.

After almost a year out of work he became West Ham manager on 1 July, taking over from David Moyes.

Moyes had led West Ham into Europe for three consecutive seasons, and won the Europa Conference League, but some fans believed his football was too negative.

Former Real Madrid and Spain boss Lopetegui was meant to improve that – but the Hammers are 14th place with only four Premier League wins so far.

A morale-boosting win over Newcastle a couple of weeks ago was followed up by a 5-2 home loss to Arsenal and 3-1 defeat at struggling Leicester.

West Ham rank ninth for amount of shots in the Premier League but only 16th on goals (below Wolves) – with a shot conversion rate of 8.74%.

Lopetegui told journalists on Friday he “was not thinking this” when asked if Monday’s game could be his last.

“We are not happy and for sure the fans are always right,” he said. “Until now I think they give us much more than we give them and we have to change this. We are working for this.

“I am focused on the things in our control. The only focus in this moment is to come back tomorrow and be focused on Monday.”

Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague said: “West Ham played really well against Newcastle and Leicester, but they seem to lack the confidence. That’s not impossible to correct.

“I do see him tired, stressed and not being himself because the team has not clicked yet. But he is convinced that he can turn things around.

“He was the Spanish national team manager, Real Madrid manager and won the Europa League with Sevilla, but some people think he cannot be good enough for a team that finished ninth in the Premier League last season.”

Lopetegui’s future was debated by senior West Ham figures last week – but the decision was made to keep him in place for now.

West Ham legend Tony Cottee said on the BBC Sounds Sacked In The Morning podcast: “I wasn’t in favour of the appointment.

“I didn’t think it was following on from David Moyes. I was a huge David Moyes fan. He’d done an incredible job at the club – won West Ham their first trophy in 43 years.

“Was the football free-flowing, attacking football? No, not really. But did West Ham win something? Yes, they did.

“I think it was always going to be difficult to replace David. Really, really difficult. I didn’t think it was the right appointment, but that was only my own personal feelings. We are where we are now.”