OPINION
The one thing that any club wants to avoid on the opening day of the season is a complete and utter thrashing – which is why Manuel Pellegrini will likely be fuming about the way his West Ham side performed against a dominant Liverpool side on Sunday.
The Hammers have been tipped by many to push for a much higher spot than last season courtesy of what has been deemed a really exciting summer transfer window, breaking their record spend as the new man in charge conducted an overhaul of his side.
However, very few of the recent arrivals managed to live up to expectation, and anyone expecting this fresh Hammers side to gel immediately has been proved extremely wrong.
It was goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski – a summer arrival from Swansea City – who managed to keep the Hammers from being well and truly embarrassed, and for a goalkeeper to be the shining light highlights the issues that Pellegrini is facing.
Yes, Liverpool are one of the most potent attacking threats in the division but the way new signings Ryan Fredericks and Fabian Balbuena were allowed to be cut through like butter has alarm bells ringing already.
This is not to say they are not worthy of playing in the top flight – just that Pellegrini has plenty of work to do if he wants to hit the expected heights with this squad – and he should be raging over how their first outing went.
Cohesion in the side is something he and his coaching staff absolute must work on over the coming days, and with some tough fixtures in the near-future, staying resolute at the back is also a priority.
At least he can rely on Fabianski to pull off some important saves – it quite frankly is not enough though.