West Ham cancel Julen Lopetegui press conference with sacking imminent | OneFootball

Graham Potter is poised to take over as manager with talks ongoing

West Ham have cancelled manager Julen Lopetegui’s press conference, with his sacking imminent.

Lopetegui had today at 1.15pm GMT been scheduled to preview Friday night’s FA Cup third-round match away to Aston Villa, but media duties have been cancelled.

On Tuesday evening, a scheduled team bonding meal with the squad was also cancelled, this time by Lopetegui, with the manager still in the dark over his future.

Julen Loptegui is set to be sacked six months on from his appointment

AFP via Getty Images

Heavy defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City prompted West Ham chairman David Sullivan to once again consider the future of Lopetegui, whose sacking was previously discussed by the club’s board after the 3-1 defeat at Leicester City on December 3.

Potter has long been of interest to the Hammers board and technical director Tim Steidten discussed the possible job opening with the former Chelsea manager before the game at the King Power Stadium, for which Potter served as a pitch-side pundit for Amazon Prime Video.

Boardroom conversations again took place this week, and Potter is now working towards an agreement. Lopetegui will be formally told of his sacking on Wednesday morning.

Graham Potter

PA

Lopetegui’s relationship with Steidten has deteriorated in recent weeks, prompting the technical director to stay away from the training ground. Lopetegui took training on Tuesday but is due to be relieved of his duties on Wednesday.

West Ham have won just six of their 20 Premier League matches this season under Lopetegui’s watch. In that time, they have shipped 39 goals, with only Leicester, Wolves and Southampton having conceded more.

The former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic had also previously been touted as a possible next manager at the London Stadium. The club also sounded out Paulo Fonseca, recently sacked by AC Milan, before working to agree terms with Potter.