As West Ham beat Crystal Palace with an impressive 3-2 win at the London Stadium, manager Manuel Pellegrini set his sights on a place inside the top six and the weekend’s win over Fulham will only breed more confidence that they can push for that target.
Upon their move to the London Stadium, supporters were promised European football and Pellegrini believes that he is the man that can deliver that following a decent run of form.
After four successive wins in the Premier League, the Hammers are looking up after a slow start to the campaign.
Only a couple of months ago, some online football betting companies were listing the Chilean as one of the favourites to be the first Premier League manager of the season to be sacked, that all seems like a distant memory to the club now.
A new-look West Ham squad clearly took some time to adjust to Pellegrini’s demands, but under the former Manchester City manager, they not only have someone with the experience of guiding teams into Europe but also winning titles.
Pellegrini’s know-how will come as a huge boost to West Ham if they have serious ambitions of breaking up the Premier League’s ‘top six’ and pushing for European football.
Despite his recent injuries, in Marko Arnautovic the Hammers have a forward who can provide the goals. While Felipe Anderson’s form has erased any memory of a certain Dimitri Payet at the London Stadium.
The Hammers spent big over the summer and could well reinforce their squad in the January window following Pellegrini’s comments.
European football is certainly a realistic aim for the club following their move to the London Stadium, but they’ll have to be patient with Pellegrini and ensure that he is given enough to build at the club.
After a turbulent couple of years in London, the Hammers need stability before they can grow in order to reach their European aspirations.
