Results this season against some of the Premier League’s big six have almost put to bed the small club mentality fears that have engulfed West Ham for years, as we have finally been able to go toe-to-toe with the elite on more than one occasion.
Unfortunately, Manuel Pellegrini’s comments on our draw with Leicester City, published on the club’s official website, suggest there is still a fundamental issue, at least with the current squad, that we are yet to address.
Our draw with the Foxes had more than a few issues of note, in fact, as the officiating denied Lucas Perez a brace and its effects carry over to our chances of qualifying for Europe.
It was also the fourth game in a row we have failed to take all three points, and what’s worse is that we started so well in the first 45 minutes, only to see it go to waste.
And there lies the fundamental issue Pellegrini’s words highlighted, as they suggest our players no longer saw the threat Leicester presented, on the back of keeping them at bay for so long.
The stats show that too, as Brendan Rodgers’ side only managed three shots in the first half, two of which were on target, but were much more comfortable in the later 45 to manage eight efforts on Lukasz Fabianski’s goal.
We also boasted 55% of the ball in the first half, and managed to fashion six efforts on goal in that time, but could only retain 42.5% of possession once the sides returned from the tunnel.
Nevertheless, Pellegrini felt there were a few positives to take from the point.
“There are a lot of positive things,” he said. “The team played well again, we dominated from the beginning, Leicester have a good squad with dangerous players and they did not create chances in the first 45 minutes.
“We made an important mistake for the second goal – there was too much space when we were defending in minute 93, so that allowed them to draw the game. But for most part of the game we played well.
“Unfortunately, for us, we lost five points in the last two games and maybe if we had those points, which we would have deserved, we’d have been fighting for seventh place in the table.
“When you have two games in a row with such big mistakes it’s difficult to understand and accept.”
