The Hammers beat Southampton 3-0 in the Premier League at the London Stadium.
West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that the team’s defending must continue improving despite a second clean sheet in a row.
The Hammers ran out 3-0 winners over Southampton on Saturday in their final home game of the season, with Marko Arnautovic claiming a double and Ryan Fredericks adding a third.
Arnautovic grabbed his first in the 16th minute after latching onto Mark Noble’s through-ball and slotting past Fraser Forster, and his second, a simple header, came on 69 minutes.
Three minutes later, defender Ryan Fredericks scored his first Premier League goal of the campaign as he controlled the ball in the box and rifled past Forster to make sure of all three points against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side
Pellegrini’s charges have shipped 54 goals in the Premier League this season but the back line held firm at the London Stadium against the Saints as it did at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week.
The Chilean had asked his defenders to step up before the Spurs game and was asked by Football London after the game how he felt that they had now kept two consecutive shutouts.
“It is an issue that we still must continue improving, we have conceded too many goals for me this season,” demanded Pellegrini.
“As you said, we are able to do it two games in a row so it is a matter of concentration and intensity. Not just the defenders, for the whole team. When we don’t have the ball we must in position to recover, with a high pace and when we have the ball we need to play. That is why I think we have been a consistent team these last four games.”
The victory took Pellegrini’s charges to within a point of the top half of the table ahead of next weekend’s season finale at Watford.
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