PELL WON’T BANK ON WIN

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MANUEL PELLEGRINI is aiming to engineer a memorable victory in a fixture many see as an away banker.

West Ham boss Pellegrini (above) takes on Maurizio Sarri for the first time tomorrow.

Sarri, 59, worked as a foreign currency trader for an Italian bank until launching a coaching career at the age of 40, which saw him take over at Stamford Bridge in the summer.

Pellegrini, 65, won 28 caps for Chile as a defender before going on to manage Real Madrid and Manchester City.

But he also has a degree in civil engineering and put that knowledge to good use in 1985 when his homeland was hit by earthquakes.

And the Hammers boss reckons his studies also helped him become a better manager.

He said: “The most important thing being an engineer taught me was to know my own mind.

“You have to resolve problems and you must know which is the best way to do that – which things are the priority and which things are secondary.”

Pellegrini reckoned Sarri’s unusual path into management would have helped him as well.

He said: “To be a manager, it is first of all important to have been a professional football player.

“But if you are not, then every preparation you have had will be useful for you to be a manager. You must be a leader and be able to talk with all different types of people in different ways.

“So maybe the preparation he had in another activity was useful to him to work as a manager. He is doing very well at Chelsea as he did at Napoli before.”

Sarri let Eden Hazard rest while his team-mates were in Europa League action and Pellegrini hailed the Belgian as “one of the best in the world”.

But the Irons boss does not think Hazard can yet be compared to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

He added: “Hazard was the most successful player when Chelsea won the title. After that, maybe the next season was not so good.

“When players have a successful season, the next one is the big thing. Cristiano and Messi always want the next season to be better than the previous season.”