Manuel Pellegrini sacked: West Ham statement in full as Chilean axed after Leicester loss

Manuel Pellegrini has been sacked by West Ham in the aftermath of their Premier League defeat to Leicester on Saturday evening. The Hammers’ loss leaves them one point above the relegation zone having lost 10 of their 19 matches this term.

And with the Londoners headed into 2020 with a serious battle against the drop on their hands, Pellegrini has been dismissed.

Despite Leicester fielding a largely second-string side against West Ham on Saturday evening, they were beaten 2-1.

The full-time whistle was greeted by boos after what was a fourth straight home defeat, equalling the club’s worst ever Premier League record on home soil between November 2005 and January 2006.

The former Manchester City boss lasted 18 months in the job at the London Stadium and finished 10th in his first season, five points off the European spots.

But Pellegrini’s side have been well below-par this term and as a result, his three-year deal has been torn up halfway through.

He is the sixth Premier League manager to be sacked this term after Javi Gracia, Quique Sanchez Flores, Mauricio Pochettino, Unai Emery and Marco Silva.

Despite spending £155million across his tenure, including twice breaking the club’s transfer record on Felipe Anderson and then Sebastian Haller,

The 66-year-old leaves having lost more matches than he won, with 29 defeats and 24 wins in 64 matches across all competitions. They have lost nine of their last 12 in the league.

West Ham’s official statement on their website read: “West Ham United can confirm that Manuel Pellegrini has left the Club with immediate effect.

“Joint-Chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold, along with the Board and everyone at West Ham United, would like to place on record their thanks to Manuel for his service over the past 18 months.

“Mr Sullivan said: ‘It is with great disappointment that we’ve had to make this decision. Manuel is a gentleman and it has been a real pleasure to work with someone of his calibre.

“‘However, it has become clear that that a change is required to get the Club back on track in line with our ambitions this season.

“‘We felt it was necessary to act now in order to give the new manager as much time as possible to try and achieve that goal.'”

Speaking after the defeat to Leicester, Pellegrini admitted the mood was low in the Hammers’ camp.

He explained: “Without any doubt, I don’t think these performances are what the players expect from themselves.

“The only way to do ti try to convince them to continue with one clear idea and not make too many changes and in the way we have results, at home, the players will recover.”

Asked if he thought he would be in charge against Bournemouth on New Year’s Day, he said: “I already answered this question and I said I cannot answer it.

“It does not depend on me.

“I must continue working. We need to find away to recover our trust and win our next game.”

West Ham have been linked with bringing David Moyes back to the club.

The Scot steered the club clear of the drop after taking over in November 2017, winning nine of his 31 matches in charge having taken over after they had sunk to the bottom three under Slaven Bilic.

But they opted to give Pellegrini the permanent position over Moyes, and the Times claim West Ham owners David Sullivan and David Gold have been back in contact with Moyes about a return.

However, the ex-Everton and Manchester United coach is only interested if he is appointed on a permanent basis rather than being installed as a caretaker for the second time.

source: express.co.uk