West Ham have appointed Manuel Pellegrini as the club’s new manager.
Former West Ham United man Tony Gale has told Sky Sports that the Hammers board must not treat the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini as a “smokescreen” to fans, and instead use it as a platform to build.
The Hammers appointed Chilean boss Pellegrini on Tuesday morning, with the former Manchester City manager signing a three-year deal at the London Stadium.
It is believed that Pellegrini will earn a huge £7million a year, though it is still a big loss on the £16million he was earning with Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune.
Gale is concerned that co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan could have spent big to appease frustrated Hammers fans by appointing Pellegrini, and hope the criticism stops there. Instead, Gale wants the Hammers to continue spending.
He also urged the West Ham board to ignore interest in star duo Marko Arnautovic and Manuel Lanzini, both of whom are expected to attract interest this summer.
“I just hope this isn’t a smokescreen by the West Ham board to sign a ‘profile manager’, so that they don’t have to buy players,” Gale said.
“Okay, he’s going to become the highest paid West Ham manager in history but there’s lots of money in the West Ham coffers and they need to spend it as well.”
“What they’ve got to do is not sell their best players,” Gale said. “The likes of Lanzini and Arnautovic to maybe fund the surgery of the team. They need to add to those good players. Hopefully, Pellegrini will make sure that those players stay.”
Pellegrini takes over in east London after the club decided not to offer David Moyes a new deal, despite the former Manchester United manager taking the club to 13th place and away from the relegation zone.
With an expectant fanbase behind him, Pellegrini will must look to take the Hammers into the top half of the table to please the London Stadium faithful.
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