O'Neil under huge pressure. Lopetegui should be under even more.
During his long, successful reign at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson occasionally berated the media about the “sack race” for managers. Almost a spokesman for his profession, certainly a guardian, Ferguson once lectured us on the need to remember that managers were human beings, and that any dismissal hurt, especially one around this time of year when the sacked manager had to go home and explain to family about receiving a P45 amongst the Christmas cards.
Substantial pay-offs in the modern era undoubtedly soften the blow. But it is cheaper to change a manager than change a squad, and managers are more head coaches nowadays, and thus perceived by some owners and sporting directors as more expendable. Managers aren’t for life, not even for Christmas at times.
Which takes us to the London Stadium. West Ham United versus Wolverhampton Wanderers is already being depicted as “El Sackico”. That’s assuming either Julen Lopetegui or Gary O’Neil survives in charge that long. O’Neil is most under pressure because of the away following’s angry reaction to him during and after Wolves’ embarrassing 4-0 loss at Everton (whose manager Sean Dyche has also been in the fans’ cross-hairs). “Sacked in the morning,” was one of the more polite chants directed at O’Neil. A decent man in a brutal profession, O’Neil still went over to applaud them and he will go into the training ground this morning determined to turn things around but his post-match comments to local radio sounded almost defeatist by O’Neil’s usually positive standards. The clock ticks loud.