Julen Lopetegui is already a breath of fresh air at West Ham… but ‘under-appreciated’ David Moyes deserves high praise

ON the first day of every season I am always full of optimism and hope  that West Ham can win the Premier League.

You’ve signed new players, things are coming together, and you think, ‘This may be our year’.

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Even if we don’t wrestle the trophy off Manchester City,  getting back into Europe is an absolute priority for us — and for our new manager.

We made an exciting appointment in Julen Lopetegui, having said goodbye to David Moyes in May after a remarkable period of success.

 Julen has been a breath of fresh air.

He’s an experienced individual we believe can build on David’s great work, get us back into Europe and deliver the wins the fans want. We are giving him every penny we can in the transfer market to do just that, with our eight signings so far.

But I must pay tribute to David again.

I had an excellent working relationship with him. His work ethic, attention to detail, passion, drive and energy were all second to none and he was an absolute pleasure to work with.

He left for several reasons. Firstly, a bit of inconsistency had crept into results.

And without putting words into his mouth, I think he felt very unappreciated by the supporters.

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He delivered a first major trophy since 1980, a consistent period of domestic success — including three consecutive European qualifications for the first time in the club’s history — and reached the semis and quarter-finals in Europe either side of the Conference League triumph.

As a result, he found it quite difficult to be turned on so quickly last season when things dipped — especially after gaining the most Premier League points West Ham had ever had at the halfway point of a campaign.

Not that he was boo-hooing about it, that’s not his style. He  rolled up his sleeves and got on with it.

But things can go a bit stale and both club and manager need a change, and that’s the conclusion we came to together.

It’s very sad when a relationship comes to an end with someone you have worked with very closely and admire and like.

But parting ways is the easier bit. Getting a better replacement is where the real work begins.

It’s a very close relationship so you have to have a bit of chemistry and feel they are someone you can work with who isn’t emotionally draining or  demanding.

And that’s exactly what David Sullivan, Tim Steidten and I felt when we met with Julen. We liked him straight away.

We felt he was genuine, hard-working, passionate, enthusiastic, had clear ideas of what he wanted to do and understood the West Ham way.

But I cannot tell you how good it felt being in Europe and winning that trophy.

To be part of a West Ham that created that memory for hundreds of thousands of our supporters was very special.

And we believe we can do that again with Julen.

Overseas Prem not for me

THE prospect of playing  Premier League games abroad hasn’t been officially raised — YET — but it has been mooted among some owners.

But it would be unforgivable to deny season-ticket holders a game and West Ham would definitely vote against any proposal that meant doing that.

With foreign investment in the Premier League increasing, some say its global appeal means taking the show on the road is the right thing to do. I understand the logic.

 But I’m English, I live here and believe all games should be played in this country.

We have pre-season tours to let overseas fans watch us play.

West Ham have just come back from the US where some of the American Prem owners are pushing for a Stateside league game.

The idea was floated years ago and shot down immediately.

But there weren’t as many  foreign owners then. We would obviously look at the detail of any proposal and, handled right, it could be workable.

Particularly if teams have the ability to opt out.

And if two other clubs wanted to do it and the League felt it was in its best interest, I wouldn’t stop them.

But we would not be the only club to vote against a proposal if every team had to play a match outside the UK every year.

Full of hope for new Nic

I was really impressed with Niclas Fullkrug — our new striker signed from Borussia Dortmund.

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As soon as he stepped off the plane from Germany he asked: “Where can I train? Because I don’t like to miss a single day.”

That’s the kind of attitude that you want. He’s a big personality, incredibly professional, a strong individual and a real grown up.

He’s going to have a hugely positive impact. We’re all really excited.