According to a report by Football Insider, West Ham United are not believed to have any intention of looking at a contract extension for Manuel Pellegrini any time soon. In fact, it is believed David Sullivan and David Gold both want to see further evidence that the Chilean manager they brought to the club is the man to take the Hammers to the next level.
“David Sullivan and David Gold want further evidence that Pellegrini can lift West Ham from a mid-table club to one capable of challenging for the top six,” the report claims, although it is thought the former Manchester City manager’s job isn’t under threat.
West Ham are currently 13th in the Premier League on 13 points, which is nowhere near what Sullivan and Gold clearly believe is possible for the squad they’ve invested in and spent money on assembling. However, the Hammers are only three points off sixth place Sheffield United, so perhaps the board and fans are panicking over an early-season blip?
According to Football Insider, the board have also compared the club to Leicester City, as they are thought to have been impressed with what Brendan Rodgers has achieved with the Foxes in very little time: “They have noted how Leicester City have made immense strides since appointing Brendan Rodgers at the end of February.”
Leicester have won five times in their last six matches, whereas the east London side’s last win was against Manchester United back in 22nd September.
TIF Tactics – How do West Ham compare to Leicester City
Indeed, when looking at Leicester’s squad, it’s, perhaps, hard to say more than two of West Ham’s players would get into that squad. Maybe only the likes of Sebastien Haller and Felipe Anderson would be of interest to the Foxes.
Leicester have also had a similar run in the league, so you can’t even say they’ve played easier fixtures. They have lost to Liverpool and Manchester United while managing to beat Tottenham Hotspur. West Ham, however, have lost to Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Everton and Newcastle United. So if anything they have had an easier run themselves.
Of course, being just halfway through an alleged costly three-year contract will always likely have meant that a new deal would not be on the table at this moment in time and it would not be a surprise if the board were to wait until the end of the campaign to truly decide whether Pellegrini is worthy of a new deal.
Whilst results and performances may not have been what the Hammers and their hierarchy would have hoped (or expected) at the moment, a quick change in fortunes could help improve things, as they ultimately did last season after a rather abysmal start to life under the South American.