Stuart Pearce has provided a rallying cry to West Ham United fans after a torrid start to the season saw them lose their opening two Premier League games.
The former England under-21 coach – who also spent seven months with the Hammers under previous manager David Moyes – admitted that new boss Manuel Pellegrini has been rather unlucky in terms of injuries at the start of the campaign, with one of their most important players – Manuel Lanzini – sidelined for the season due to injury, but he insists that the club must unite.
“They’ve spent £100million on nine players so obviously a lot of players have got to fit in and I think he’s still learning about his team, about the new players that have come through the door, the squad of players he has got at this moment and best formations,” Pearce told Sky Sports’ ‘The Debate‘.
Should @WestHamUtd fans be worried about their start to the season? ??
Join @GeoffShreeves, Craig Bellamy and Stuart Pearce on #TheDebate live on Sky Sports Premier League. pic.twitter.com/AVB3vNhjuc
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“And Manuel has gone into this season, Lanzini is out for the season, international injury, Andy Carroll three months out through injury and Winston Reid so three players straight away out and he’s got to incorporate nine new faces.
“Y’know what it is like, it doesn’t take much for the West Ham fans to turn a little bit and leave the stadium so he’s right what he is saying, we need to unite as a football club.”
OPINION
Due to their torrid start to the season, West Ham fans need someone to perk them up and tell them to unite after their first two matches. These comments by Pearce imply that we should not be too quick to criticise the Irons – after all, they have a bunch of new players and a new manager, and we are only two games in. They have not had time to settle and gel as a team properly, so it is only right for Pearce to make a call for unity amongst the fans. The team need the support more than ever, and they should not be leaving the stadium early due to the poor results. Fans know that West Ham are much more capable of what they have already displayed, but they need to prove that in their next fixtures – Arsenal will be a tough one, but they must go out there and believe that they can achieve a positive result.