Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Hugo Bueno has backed Julen Lopetegui to turn things around at West Ham United, insisting the Spaniard is a great coach.
The defender has been speaking to AS about various topics, including his former manager, who currently finds himself struggling at the London Stadium.
Bueno is spending the season on loan at Feyenoord in the hope of getting regular playing time and kicking on after a slow season under Gary O’Neil last year.
He’s failed to impress the Wolves coach as much as his predecessor Julen Lopetegui, who handed the player more minutes in 17 games than O’Neil has in 26 games so far.
Like Bueno, he is not current at Molineux but elsewhere, having taken charge of West Ham in the summer when they sought a replacement for David Moyes.
The Spanish boss arrived to much acclaim amid a big transfer window for the club in which they spent big and strengthened in numerous positions across the squad.
That’s not translated to results on the pitch, with West Ham winning one game in six in the Premier League so far and yet to show any signs of a positive season under his leadership.
Bueno is confident West Ham will be fine, though, backing his former Wolves manager to get things firmly on track.
“I can still grow more, my best level has been seen with Lopetegui at the Wolves,” he said.
“For me he is a great coach. He is very demanding and made me take a step forward. And that allowed me to complete very good matches in a competition as demanding as the Premier League.
“Now I am at Feyenoord, and he is at West Ham. They haven’t started the season well, but I’m sure the team will get better and better. As soon as they start winning, they will go up and finish the season in a good position in the Premier League.”
