Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton has expressed confusion over West Ham’s identity following their challenging start to the season under manager Julen Lopetegui.
Currently, West Ham sit 14th in the Premier League with only 11 points from their first 10 games.
Sutton suggested that Lopetegui, who took over from David Moyes at the end of last season, might soon face “major pressure” if the team’s results don’t improve.
“West Ham this season are stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, you don’t know what they are and that’s the issue,” Sutton told the Monday Night Club on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“It looks like he’s a little bit stuck. He’s in the wrong movie.”
Following a seemingly significant victory over Manchester United the previous week, West Ham faced a setback with a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, marking their fifth defeat of the season.
Aside from their win against United, the club’s only other league victories so far have been over struggling sides Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace.
“He needs time, but you don’t really know what they are and he’s spent a fortune,” Sutton added.
Moyes, who led West Ham to the Europa Conference League title in 2023, also said Lopetegui should be given more time.
“I had a few defeats where we lost heavily at different times, so it happens for all managers,” Moyes told the BBC’s Football Daily podcast.
“But I just think that the manager needs to be given an opportunity, a bit of time to settle things down. Sometimes players need to perform as well, they need to step up and show what they’re about.”
West Ham have tough tests against Newcastle and Arsenal coming up this month, while Everton would move above Lopetegui’s side with a win on Saturday.
“David Moyes had a style of football, whether you agreed with it or not. West Ham wanted a more progressive brand of football, but at least you knew what David Moyes’ teams were and they were counter-attack,” Sutton said.
New York Times football journalist Rory Smith said West Ham fans would be more understanding of West Ham’s poor results if the club were playing a more exciting brand of football under Lopetegui.
“They can tell they’ve got a worse version of what they had before, with all the bits they didn’t like about Moyes,” Smith added.