West Ham idol ‘apologises’ to players after savaging them

West Ham are starting to click under new manager Julen Lopetegui after their impressive 4-1 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday (October 5).

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former Hammers striker Frank McAvennie admits he owes West Ham players an apology after their win over Ipswich and that ‘it must be hard’ to transition from David Moyes’ style of play to Lopetegui’s.

The Spaniard was brought in at the end of last season to shift the team’s style of play from a defensive, counter-attacking approach to a more possession-based game.

West Ham spent £121.6million on nine new first-team players throughout the summer transfer window, making them the sixth-highest-spending side in the Premier League.

West Ham players prove doubters wrong vs Ipswich

Michail Antonio scored after just 48 seconds, the fastest Premier League goal in the club’s history before star trio Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, and Lucas Paqueta all got in on the action.

Sitting in 12th with eight points after their first seven Premier League games, the East London club will face off against rivals Tottenham once the international break ends.

“It’s amazing what happens in the first minute. You score a goal and the confidence goes so high”, McAvennie told Football Insider.

“And I’m pleased for Antonio because, you know, he came in, there’s a new striker come in who was getting the game. Then all of a sudden, he’s flung back into the fold.

“I’ve been giving them a wee bit of stick and I’m going to apologise for that because you’ve got to remember there was nine players come in.

“To go from what David wanted, which was a counter-attacking team, to what he’s wanting is just open play.

“It must be hard, when I’m thinking about it, there must be certain players getting used to playing his way but I didn’t think it would take that long.

“They’re getting used to each other, and you look at them and think, ‘These guys can play’.

“I liked the way they played in the second half with Kudus, Paqueta, and Bowen back to their old selves, back to enjoying themselves.

“It shows the boys are all together and for once I enjoyed watching it.”