Manuel Pellegrini has spent the early stages of his West Ham tenure removing the London Stadium from having any influence on their performances.
After a season of virulent atmospheres, poor performances and crowd trouble in east London, Pellegrini has insisted that his squad forget what is going on in the stands, claiming that fans were suffering from a hangover from the last campaign in the opening weeks of his reign.
After fine home performances against Chelsea and Manchester United, with the encouragement of an 8-0 League Cup win over Macclesfield in between, this weekend’s London derby against Tottenham provides the perfect chance for Pellegrini to harness what will undoubtedly be a fiery affair in Stratford.
The London Stadium has taken heavy criticism for a number of factors since the Hammers moved there two years ago, most of it justified.
In Pictures | Brighton vs West Ham | 05/10/18
The atmosphere has been high on everyone’s list of complaints, but on occasions like Saturday it comes alive, something Pellegrini is hoping to see this weekend.
“I think that normally both things are linked. When the team play well the atmosphere in the stadium is unbelievable,” he told Standard Sport.
“Maybe sometimes when the team, and I am not just talking about West Ham I am talking about all the football teams, maybe sometimes when teams are not playing so, so well the fans really create the atmosphere to try to encourage the team.
“I hope that this being the derby and the way we are playing I am sure we are going to have a great atmosphere.”
A good performance and result against Mauricio Pochettino’s side this weekend and the Chilean may soon bring the stadium back onto the agenda, but in a positive light.
After a season of scrapping and a style of football which had to focus on cutting out errors before anything else, Pellegrini’s style of play is perhaps more conducive to creating a positive atmosphere in E20.
“Well I think that is a fan in football goes to the stadium to see goals,” Pellegrini continued. “That’s the main thing, to see how your team scores. So the more you can score, the more the fans will enjoy it.
“At least I try as a manager to play attractive and offensive football. But a lot of times you cannot do it, you cannot score.”
Pellegrini is wary of Tottenham’s ability to shut his side out this weekend, but a performance with all the right intentions from the start will make all the difference in the stands.
