'Notorious' - West Ham United fans slammed amid growing pressure on boss Julen Lopetegui

A former Aston Villa and Everton CEO has hit out at West Ham United fans, claiming the supporters are ‘notorious’ for their impatience after reacting poorly to the Irons’ 2024/25 season start.

It has been far from a satisfactory month of football at the London Stadium, with new Irons boss Julen Lopetegui failing to live up to expectations so far

The Spanish head coach was given significant resources to recruit new signings over the summer and brought in the likes of Max Kilman, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Crysencio Summerville in the hope of providing European football for the club in the 2025/26 season.

However, the club have picked up just four points from a possible 15 in the Premier League so far this season, losing 3-0 to London rivals Chelsea last Saturday, before suffering a 5-1 hammering by Liverpool in last night’s (Wednesday 25 September) EFL Cup third round clash.

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness, who is well connected across the Premier League boardrooms after setting up his own football consultancy, has since called out what he perceives to be impatience from the Hammers fanbase, but is all too aware that if Lopetegui does not start to make improvements leading into Christmas, the Stratford-based club may well seek to make a change.

Speaking on the Football Insider’s podcast, the ex-Goodison Park CEO said of the Irons: “It’s a very disappointing start. The crowd, certainly when they lost 3-0 at home to Chelsea, are very dissatisfied. That is the crowd who hounded David Moyes out last season. They’re notorious for not being that patient. They expected more from Lopetegui. He’s been given a decent squad, but it’s a very bad start.

“It’s still early days. We’ll see where they sit around Christmas time. The confidence in the manager isn’t quite there, so it’s not good signs. If the fans start to turn against the team, it won’t end well.

“Between Christmas and Easter, if things don’t turn around, that’s when it will be crunch time for Lopetegui’s job. They’ve had a tough start with the fixture list, but after Christmas, they will be a club to keep an eye on.”

As pressure continues to mount on the former Spain head coach, who was famously sacked just two days before the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Irons will prepare to face Brentford in their next Premier League clash on Saturday 28 September.