WEST HAM boss Manuel Pellegrini says more players means more problems for him.
But he would rather have “one of the most difficult” tasks for a manager than a team that picks itself.
West Ham’s near-£100m summer spree on nine new faces has left Pellegrini with a first team squad of 28 players and a major headache to pick his starting 11.
Pellegrini, who makes his league bow as Hammers boss at Liverpool tomorrow, said: “Maybe it is one of the most difficult things for a manager, because all of them want to play and with better players, more problem.
“But for me it is more difficult if you don’t have players.
“When you just have 11, there would be no problem, same starting 11 every week.
“I would have to choose the starting 11 but they know that if during the whole season you don’t have a strong squad, it is difficult to be successful.
“For me as a manager it is more easy to have more good players, and some of them must wait, but to have that option to change.
“We have two different players in each position and they must work in a competitive way between them.
“Then I make the decisions, options-wise, on who plays.”
West Ham’s hopes are high following the appointment of Pellegrini, who won the Premier League title with Manchester City, and the backing he has received in the transfer market.
The Hammers finished the transfer window as the fourth highest spenders in the division.
But Pellegrini says the club’s transfer outlay has not heaped pressure on him to bring success to the London Stadium.
He said: “I never knew a manager that didn’t have pressure, no matter how much he spends.
“The pressure is the same in every game because the Premier League is a competitive league and pressure always exists.
“Every team spent money so the pressure doesn’t increase.”