Exclusive: West Ham eye manager with 11 trophies in seven years amid Lopetegui doubts

Premier League strugglers West Ham United are sounding out former FC Porto manager Sergio Conceicao as a potential replacement for Julen Lopetegui though David Sullivan is keen to keep backing the under-fire Spaniard.

• Exclusive from Graeme Bailey

A dismal start to the season from a Hammers side who were expected to challenge for the European spots has left Julen Lopetegui’s position uncertain only a few months into his two-year contract at the London Stadium.

West Ham are 15th, with only two wins from eight Premier League matches.

TBR understands that the ex-Wolves, Real Madrid and Spain boss retains the backing of West ham co-owner David Sullivan.

Sullivan was central to the Lopetegui’s arrival in place of David Moyes. And he is not ready to accept yet that bringing the 58-year-old back to England was a mistake.

But, still, work is being done within the club to assess potential alternatives should Lopetegui fail to steer West Ham back on course.

And one of the names that has come up in discussions is that of Sergio Conceicao.

West Ham United eye former Porto manager Sergio Conceicao

Like Lopetegui, former Portugal international Conceicao helped make his name as one of Europe’s up-and-coming young coaches in the FC Porto dugout.

Conceicao spent seven years at the Estadio do Dragao before leaving as a bonafide, modern-day club icon in June. He won three Primeira Liga titles with Porto, and was named Portugal’s Coach of the Year on another three occasions.

West Ham held talks with Ruben Amorim of Sporting Lisbon a few months back, before settling on Lopetegui. Now, they could go for a man who spent much of the last-half decade competing with Amorim for domestic honours over in Iberia.

TBR can confirm that a number of clubs across the continent are considering Conceicao. West Ham would likely face plenty of competition should they cut their losses on Lopetegui.

And understandably so, given Conceicao’s record and reputation.

In total, the 49-year-old won 11 trophies in seven years as the Porto boss.

A fiercely competitive character who can sometimes rub people up the wrong way, Conceicao’s driven, often abrasive approach has led to comparisons with another former Porto coach; Jose Mourinho.

Fabio Capello explains what West Ham could get in Julen Lopetegui replacement

Interestingly, a criticism that often came his way during a difficult final few months at Porto were that Conceicao’s teams tended to play better against stronger teams than against weaker ones.

If he was to take over West Ham, his high-pressing, quick transition football could suit a claret-and-blue squad nicely, given that The Hammers are not a team expected to dominate possession in a league full of stronger opponents.

“As a coach he has done very, very well at Porto, demonstrating great tactical and attacking attention,” former England, Milan and Real Madrid boss Fabio Capello recently told Gazzetta dello Sport, hailing Conceicao’s ability to coax maximum value out of both experienced and youthful talents.

“His teams are solid and balanced. We saw it in the Champions League. When the Italian [teams] met Porto, they often suffered.

“But there is another thing I like about Conceicao. He’s a coach capable of working with both important players and prospective players. He brings out the best in everyone.

“He is used to building and doing it with a winning mentality. He made this with the philosophy of Porto, where historically value is created by winning.”

West Ham could ease the pressure on Lopetegui considerably win a win against Manchester United on Sunday.