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Pellegrini: ‘Beautiful’ new stadium is no excuse for failure
MANUEL PELLEGRINI has claimed the London Stadium is “not an excuse” for failure before his first home match as West Ham manager.
And the former Real Madrid and Manchester City boss said the “beautiful stadium” is fit for a “big team” like the Hammers.
The East End club’s move to the former Olympic arena has been dogged with difficulties and crowd disturbances over the last two seasons. Ex-boss Slaven Bilic claimed it “isn’t a football stadium” earlier this year and his former players admitted they have struggled to adapt to the 57,000-seat stadium after the more intimate Upton Park.
But after a summer of heavy spending, the Hammers are now seeking a brand new era with Pellegrini’s positive brand of football. And before hosting Bournemouth today, the Chilean started by dismissing any negativity around their home ground.
“I don’t know why that stadium has to be difficult,” he said. “The pitch has the same measurements.
“The grass is in very good shape. The atmosphere with over 55,000 people is great. The stadium is not an excuse. We want to make the stadium a positive. It is a stadium for a big team. West Ham is a big team. The Boleyn Ground was a great stadium with a lot of atmosphere. But it was a 30,000 stadium.
The London Stadium is at least 55,000, so 25,000 more fans can see the game. It is our home stadium because it is what this club needs and deserves. We have a beautiful stadium.
“When a season finishes, it is finished. Now we have a new season.”
The Stratford venue has hardly been a fortress, with West Ham recording only seven home Premier League wins in each of their two seasons in residence while finishing 11th and 13th. Another issue is the size of the technical areas with managers prowling the touchline needing to make a long-distance call back to their assistants on the bench.
But Pellegrini added: “It is not a problem. The importance of the manager during the day of the game is five per cent.
“The players are playing, you can just talk with them for 10 minutes during half-time, but all the rest of the game the players must decide. “You cannot be shouting all the game. During the week, the manager is 95 per cent important, not on the day of the game.”