“The first target is Europe. It’s a very personal target because it’s something I have always done.”
To say Manuel Pellegrini is a manager that demands success would be an understatement, and even at a club like West Ham, who aren’t the first club that comes to people’s minds when they think regular European teams, the Chilean is eager to take the Hammers back to the continental stage.
Although that quote came in February of this year via West Ham’s official website, you can’t help but wonder after the summer the Hammers had bringing in the likes of Sebastien Haller and Pablo Fornals that is Pellegrini actually plotting to take the east London side to European football?
Indeed, Pellegrini’s record in the past of taking clubs to Europe is an impressive one.
The Chilean took Villarreal to the Champions League semi-final where the Yellow Submarine were knocked out by Arsenal in the 2005/06 season, and more recently with Malaga in 2012/13 the former Manchester City manager stood on the cusp of a second surprise final four appearance with a La Liga side, but an incredible Borussia Dortmund comeback in the second leg of quarter-finals crushed such a dream.
Villarreal and Malaga, two teams not many would expect to make it to a Champions League, let alone deep in the competition, yet Pellegrini took them there, and if the Chilean is to repeat such an incredible feat with a club like West Ham, the Premier League winner must start the road to Europe this weekend against Watford.
Last season saw the Hammers finish just five points behind a Europa League spot in the Premier League table, and if there is one thing West Ham can do differently this campaign compared to the last is get off to a much better start, with Pellegrini’s side not picking up their first point of the season up until September last year.
This campaign can be different, though. West Ham have a near fully fit squad going up to Vicarage Road, and a win early in the season can be a game-changer in Pellegrini’s lofty goal of taking the Hammers to Europe.
