Gary Neville shared that he thought that West Ham had turned a corner ahead of their clash with Brighton on Friday night.
The Sky Sports pundit delivered his verdict on the progress the Hammers had made this season and revealed that he thought they had built confidence from their latest results.
Neville admitted that he wasn’t worried about the Hammers at the start of the season due to their quality, but that they only recently started to show what they were capable of.
“I think the confidence from the Everton game was huge for them and then Chelsea,” said Neville on Sky Sports Main Event (Friday October 5, 19:04).
“What was really good for Manchester United is how he changed things and adapted from the week before against Chelsea, the game that we did, the game that we were at.
“It was very defensive, compact, he respected the form that Chelsea were in then tried to counter-attack them and really had good chances through Michail Antonio with Arnautovic not playing.
“But then against Manchester United, they were on the front foot, the confidence built from the Chelsea and Everton games.
“I have to say I wasn’t worried about West Ham before the start of the season, I thought they had too much quality but now we’re starting to see it and they’ve turned a corner.”
OPINION
Neville’s words will be welcomed by Hammers supporters as he basically heaped praise on their side. The Sky Sports pundit in his verdict credited Manuel Pellegrini with the way he managed the game against Chelsea and changed tact against Manchester United, so this shows the Hammers have a capable manager currently holding the reigns. Hopefully Neville is right to praise the Hammers ahead of their game against Brighton as the side have all the tools to secure a positive result on Friday night. Chris Hughton’s side haven’t been in the best of form lately and are there for the taking if the Hammers turn on the style. Pellegrini opted to field an unchanged side from the team that started the 3-1 win over Manchester United so hopefully all the players will be able to deliver a similar performance as their last game, as there was hardly a weak link in sight. The Hammers will be hoping to secure a positive result against the Seagulls as they will want to go into the international break on a high note.
