‘THIS IS NOT AN EXPERIMENT’
IT has taken one month and four Premier League defeats for Manuel Pellegrini to learn the real West Ham way as he launched a staunch defence of his attacking style.
This charming man has Real Madrid and Manchester City on his globetrotting CV, along with league titles in four different countries.
But pressure has quickly built on Pellegrini – whose degree in civil engineering helped earn him his nickname, ‘The Engineer’ – amid team leaks and boardroom votes of confidence.
So before tomorrow’s visit to Everton, softly-spoken Pellegrini adopted an unusually bullish approach and insisted his methods were right.
It was not exactly a Jose Mourinho rant. But for the Hammers boss, whose press conferences can be a cure for insomnia, it was an impassioned performance, as he challenged his players to match his bravery on the pitch at Goodison Park. “It is more important to have points against Everton, but the best way to do it is to continue the way we are doing, and improving that way,” he said.
“Not to be scared or think that you are afraid what will happen. That is very difficult.
“It’s the mentality, a winning mentality. You can wait near your box until they make a mistake or you can try to force the mistake a little higher.
“You must try to go with a mentality where, if you play against a big team, a draw is a good result. For me, to draw, it is a good result if you cannot win.
“But if you do not try to win from the beginning, then it is very difficult. You must adapt the way you play with the players you have.”
The Chilean insisted his methods will bring success to the east London club – and he has the record to back his words.
“I have been in this position before,” he said. “I started with Villarreal and we had three United in their next two games. And the Chilean said: “When the results are not good, everyone is disappointed here – me, the players, the owners, the fans.
“But also they must trust in what we are doing because it is not an experiment. It is a way to grow that we have done before a lot of times. So, me, I will not points from the first 15 and finished third in the table, semifinals of the Champions League.
“After that with Malaga, when I arrived in the first season, the team was in the relegation zone. We lost five or six games in a row but continued in the same way.
“We were improving every day a little bit more until the results arrived. At every club you have a bad moment in the season. We recovered by believing more than ever in what we were doing. I am more confident than ever.”
Pellegrini, who turns 65 tomorrow, also insisted the club were correct to splash £100million on nine new players, including Jack Wilshere (below).
“If you want to grow, you need players,” he added. “For so many years this club has not been fighting for important things, so the first step is to bring in good players.
“If you don’t bring in good players, you are not going to be successful. It is a risk but if you don’t spend the money, you cannot grow.”
Every club suffers a bad moment.. but I am more confident than ever
change. Do I ever doubt my methods? No. I always trust in what I do because I have done this for 35 years.
“I don’t think that because you lose four games you must not be confident. I trust more than ever what I do because it’s not the first time in my career we have bad results. But we are absolutely confident we are going to reverse it.”