West Ham United won 1-0 against Southampton at the weekend to relieve some of the pressure building on them.
Pellegrini’s job at West Ham has come under threat in recent weeks, with the Hammers in awful form.
However, the Chilean boss tried to ensure that West Ham’s squad played with freedom on the south coast.
And his words prior to kick off seemed to work as West Ham ran out 1-0 winners against Southampton at the weekend.
The Hammers scored the only goal of the game through Sebastian Haller, as they picked up a vital three points.
And the £7 million forward (Sky Sports) said: “We showed that we are behind the manager – we’ve got the grit and the fight to do it for him. We showed that he hasn’t lost the dressing room.
“A good manager doesn’t put pressure on his players. A good manager allows you to play with freedom and confidence. That is something he said to us: ‘Just go out there and play as well as you know you can.’ And I felt we did that and we did it for him.”
West Ham’s victory over Southampton has helped ease some fears that they would be dragged into a relegation battle.
The Hammers are now four points clear of the drop zone, and have moved up to 15th place in the Premier League table.
West Ham are next in action on Boxing Day, when they take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
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