West Ham United sacked coach Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday after just half a season in charge at the club.

Consecutive heavy defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City led the east London club to decide after it had looked before Christmas that the Spanish coach was beginning to overcome a difficult start to his reign at the club and slowly improve performances.

Rumors over the former Sevilla, Wolves, Spain and Real Madrid coach's future began to surface on Tuesday and gathered strength on Wednesday when his press conference ahead of Friday's FA Cup tie away to Aston Villa was canceled.

Lopetegui replaced David Moyes at West Ham in May, but results and performances have been disappointing, with the club currently 14th in the Premier League, with 23 points from 20 games.

Perhaps most worrying for West Ham has been the team's tendency to collapse under pressure, conceding 39 goals so far this season in the league, with nine of those in the last two matches.

"The first half of the season has not aligned with the club's ambitions and the club has taken action in line with its objectives," explained West Ham in a statement.

Former Brighton and Chelsea coach Graham Potter has been lined up as a replacement and is expected to be confirmed as Lopetegui's successor in the coming hours.