Pellegrini wants collective Hammers improvement

West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini wants to see a collective improvement from his side and believes they can still claim a top-six finish. The Hammers were tipped to challenge towards the upper reaches of the division under Pellegrini and they started the season in a positive fashion. However, they have now failed to win any of their last five Premier League games and have slipped into the bottom half of the table as result.
Last weekend’s 3-2 defeat to Newcastle at the London Stadium was a particularly bitter pill for Hammers supporters to swallow, but Pellegrini is refusing to single out individuals for blame and has instead called for everyone at the club, including himself, to produce a collective improvement. “I don’t talk about individual players,” Pellegrini told reporters. “I talk about the team. Everyone must do better, including the manager and the players.”
West Ham will have a chance to return to winning ways when they travel to Turf Moor on Saturday to take on an equally out of form Burnley team that have lost their last three games, conceding nine goals in the process.
Former City boss Pellegrini is certainly confident he can turn West Ham’s fortunes around sooner rather than later, as he feels they have enough quality in their squad to at least challenge for a top-six place. “The target for West Ham years ago was not to be relegated,” the Chilean added. “I didn’t come here for that. I think that we have the players to achieve top six, and I think that if you fight you can win every game. We know how to do it.”
The East Londoners have lost two of their last three meetings with Burnley, including a 2-0 defeat when the two sides last met at Turf Moor in December.
Indeed, the Hammers last claimed a victory at the venue back in May 2017 when goals from Sofiane Feghouli and Andre Ayew helped them come from behind to secure a 2-1 win.