Alvin Martin shared that he hoped Manuel Pellegrini was a long-term appointment by the West Ham board when sharing how he thought the season had gone so far.
The Hammers legend bemoaned the loss of Manuel Lanzini to injury as he dubbed him the most creative member of the squad apart from Marko Arnautovic and shared that he thought there had been a few problems due to injuries.
However Martin quickly added that he didn’t believe anyone would have a real problem with the club’s stop-start form as long as Pellegrini’s side could have a strong second half of the campaign to carry them into the next.
“Lanzini was a massive player for West Ham, probably the most creative player apart from Arnautovic that we got and he’s out long-term,” said Martin on talkSPORT (November 10, 14:23).
“There’s been a been a few problems there (injuries) but I don’t think anyone’s got a real problem with the squad, he was bringing a lot of players in, getting them integrated into the team framework and getting a run of results going.
“It may have been stop-start but I’d rather it be like that as long as Pellegrini and the team start to function as the season goes on and if you have a good second half to the season, then maybe it turns into a top half position.
“Then it bodes well for next season as I think the owners have brought Pellegrini in not for this season but it’s a long-term appointment hopefully.”
OPINION
Few know the Hammers as well as Martin and he hits the nail on the head with his remarks. The 60-year-old made the comments ahead of the Hammers taking on Huddersfield Town on Saturday and it’s easy to see where he is coming from. The Hammers looked amazing against Manchester United for example, brushing them aside in style, before losing 1-0 to Brighton in an woeful performance. The Hammers clearly have a squad capable of bringing success to the London Stadium but it’s all about Pellegrini getting every player to understand what he is expects of them. After seeing several changes in personnel in recent seasons, Martin is right to hope that the board appointed the experienced manager in the summer with the club’s future in mind. With a consistent manager in the dugout then the Hammers can actually start to make progress to being a team who consistently finished in the top 10 in the Premier League.
