Manuel Pellegrini has got West Ham ticking again, with four straight league wins.
Ian Wright has compared West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini to Arsenal legend Arsene Wenger on BBC Radio 5 Live, as the Hammers boss continues to push his side towards the top six of the Premier League.
West Ham have earned four straight wins under the Chilean manager’s guidance, beating Newcastle United, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace and Fulham – scoring 11 goals in the process.
The Hammers now sit in a lofty ninth place and only two points behind sixth-placed Manchester United, who have sacked manager Jose Mourinho on Tuesday morning.
Arsenal legend Wright believes Pellegrini’s tactic of focusing on West Ham and not the opposition is something that served Wenger well during the Frenchman’s first years at Arsenal – and he compared the two.
“When Arsene came in, he didn’t talk about the opposition at all,” Wright said. “He was so confident in what he wanted us to do, that he never worried about the opposition. You go out with a different kind of mindset.
“All you’re focusing on is what you’re going to do to them, rather than stop what they want to do to you. When you think about it, you’re already in a negative frame of mind if you focus on the other team. It must be refreshing for them [West Ham].”
Summer signings Lukasz Fabianski, Fabian Balbuena, Issa Diop and Felipe Anderson have all impressed, while Pellegrini has got the best out of the likes of Declan Rice, Mark Noble and Robert Snodgrass.
The Hammers will be looking to make it five in a row when they host Watford on Saturday afternoon. A win could see them climb into the top six, if Manchester United, Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers drop points.
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