Stan Collymore claimed that West Ham could snatch a top-six finish if Arsenal and Manchester United have poor seasons.
The outspoken pundit stated that he could envision Arsenal and Man United struggling in the upcoming campaign, and shared that the Hammers, Wolves or Leicester City could end up finishing sixth in the Premier League as a result.
Collymore added that the Hammers had a real chance of closing the gap on the top-six this season due to manager Manuel Pellegrini as with him they could take advantage of Arsenal or Manchester United dropping the ball if the chance arises.
“I could easily see United or Arsenal having a poor season and, if they do, then Wolves, Leicester City or West Ham could leapfrog them and snatch a top-six finish,” wrote Collymore in his column for the People (page 57, Sunday, August 4th).
“West Ham have got rid of some deadwood and bad blood – thank you very much Hammers fans, I think I was right about Marko Arnautovic all along.
“And with Manuel Pellegrini they have a real chance of closing the gap and picking off that straggler, if opportunity knocks.”
OPINION
Finally, a pundit is giving Pellegrini praise. The Hammers boss previously won the Premier League with Manchester City and had a difficult job upon arriving at the London Stadium last summer. Pellegrini struggled to get off to a fast start, with the Hammers losing their opening games, but he quickly turned in around. West Ham steered clear of the Premier League relegation battle, which they were in during the 2017/18 season, and finished 10th with 52 points. When you consider Pellegrini has won 85 of the 152 Premier League games he has been in charge of during his career, as per the Premier League, it should be no surprise that he appears to be leading the Hammers in the right direction. If Collymore is right to suggest that the Hammers could snatch sixth in the upcoming season, then it will likely be down to the experienced manager working his magic. However while the outspoken pundit did suggest West Ham could be dark horses in the race for sixth, he predicted them to finish 11th on his personal Twitter account previously.
