OPINION
Manuel Pellegrini must unshackle West Ham defender Ryan Fredericks so he can show Stuart Pearce and anyone else that doubts him that he has nothing to prove this season.
The former Hammers coach spoke about the 25-year-old speedster briefly on talkSPORT on Thursday when he pointed out that he thought Fredericks has something to prove this season after jumping ship from Fulham.
“He (Fredericks) has something to prove this season at the London Stadium,” said Pearce on talkSPORT (August 30 Thursday, 11:35am) ahead of an interview by Ian Abrahams with the defender airing.
Fredericks arrived at the Hammers this season on the back of a very successful campaign with Fulham in the Championship, and due to this his lack of Premier League experience was never highlighted.
The speed demon continued to excel in pre-season for his new club and there were very few people publicly stating that Fredericks had anything to prove.
Yet after a woeful debut in England’s top-flight against Liverpool followed by him being dropped for the game against Bournemouth, it seems suddenly the defender has to justify his recruitment.
Fredericks’ struggles against the Reds were understandable as not only was he coming up against one of the most formidable attacks in the division but Michail Antonio was playing in front of him.
The winger kept leaving Fredericks alone to fend for himself and this saw the 25-year-old have a nightmare outing at Anfield.
The 25-year-old has since impressed after returning to Manuel Pellegrini’s starting line-up for the game against Arsenal as he showcased his blistering pace, tricky feet as well as his ability to put his body on the line for his side as he successfully dived into block Aaron Ramsey having a clear shot at goal.
If the game against Arsenal had been the Hammers’ opener than no one would be highlighting Fredericks or throwing down a gauntlet for him.
Pearce likely only thinks the defender now has something to prove after struggling in his debut but there should be no doubts about Fredericks’ quality.
However in order for Pearce to realise that than Fredericks needs to knock it out the park for a second time a row by showcasing his talents against Wolves on Saturday.
For the 25-year-old to be able to do that Pellegrini needs to unshackle the defender from his defensive duties a bit more so he doesn’t have to fear that he’ll be caught out if he uses his pace to burst forward.
In order to do this Antonio needs to either be directly informed to help track back in order to help cover Fredericks or Pellegrini needs to play a more defensively-minded right winger in front of him.
If the Hammers boss does than Fredericks will no only keep any doubts about him quiet but will help his side achieve a positive result against Wolves.
