Garth Crooks lauds Manuel Pellegrini decision in West Ham win

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West Ham United got back to winning ways with a stunning performance away from home at the weekend.

Garth Crooks has told BBC Sport that Manuel Pellegrini deserves huge praise for the bravery he showed to pick both Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez in West Ham’s lineup for the win away at Newcastle at the weekend.

The Hammers got back to winning ways in emphatic fashion with a 3-0 victory at St James’ Park. The Magpies had won their previous three games, but Hernandez largely stole the show by bagging a brace on Tyneside.

Felipe Anderson completed the rout in the final minutes to round off a stunning away performance from the Irons. And while he named Hernandez in his Team of the Week, Crooks suggested that Pellegrini deserved a lot of the credit for his decision to select a front two against Rafa Benitez’s side.

“All credit to West Ham’s manager Manuel Pellegrini. He went to Newcastle and played with two up front and it paid off,” he told BBC Sport.

“Marko Arnautovic and Hernandez always looked a threat but it was the superb finishing of the Mexico international that put the gloss on the sort of selection away from home that takes guts and deserves praise.”

With the amount of quality that West Ham possess with Arnautovic, Anderson and Hernandez, it would be a fantastic statement if Pellegrini was able to pick the three to start together more often.

Hernandez has struggled to force his way into the side on a regular basis. But he would have reminded the supporters of how lethal he can be when he is given a chance in front of goal.

And it will also give Pellegrini a huge amount of confidence that he can ask his side to play a number of different systems, and they seemingly have the potential to storm to a conclusive win.