Former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini says he doesn’t believe the move to the London stadium has helped West Ham this season.
The Italian, who has been linked with the manager’s job at the Hammers in recent months, compared the club’s move to the troubles Juventus had playing at their old ground the Stadio Delle Alpi.
Juve eventually moved into a purpose built football ground which has benefited their form on their pitch. He feels however West Ham’s move away from Upton Park, has had the opposite effect, and has had an impact on the atmosphere. He is quoted by the Daily Mail as saying:
‘I believe in the Juventus Stadium effect – the stadium gives Juventus seven or eight points more a season. You want to know what happened at West Ham? The new Olympic Stadium does not have the same atmosphere as Upton Park. There there was a different atmosphere, more noise. I realised this a few days ago when I went to see the match against Manchester City.”
Mancini watched his former side City beat West Ham 4-0 last week. His presence at the match sparked speculation that he could be replacing Slaven Bilic at the Hammers. The former Galatasarary boss has been out of work since resigning as Inter Milan at the start of the season after falling out with the club’s owners. He has also expressed an interest in returning to management in the Premier League.
