Manuel Pellegrini: No end-of-season target at West Ham despite £100m summer spend

Big spender: Manuel Pellegrini has spent almost £100m this summer
West Ham United via Getty Images
Ken Dyer10 August 2018

New West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini insists the board have set no targets for him this season, despite spending more than £100million on new players this summer.

The Chilean, who replaced David Moyes following the end of the Scotsman’s contract, has overseen the arrival of nine new faces in east London over the summer window, with Felipe Anderson, Jack Wilshere and Andriy Yarmolenko headlining the list.

After battling relegation last season, amidst a host of problems off the pitch, many fans at London Stadium will have hoped for a calmer ride in Pellegrini’s first term.

The board seem to agree, too, as Pellegrini revealed there is no demand of European football, the long-term target since moving from Upton Park, regardless of the record spending.

“No, we did not talk about that [a target],” Pellegrini said. “Just the general direction of the club.

"Football is so difficult to predict. We will try and play the best way and get near the top of the table as we can but that is not a previous target or ambition.”

While the board may not have set any concrete target, intense pressure is never too far away for a manager at London Stadium, but Pellegrini says spending will never add to that.

“I never knew a manager that didn't have pressure,” he added.

“No matter how much he spends [on transfers]. The pressure is the same in every game because the Premier League is a competitive league and pressure always exists.

“Every team spent money so the pressure doesn't increase.”

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