The belief was back in the performance
I don’t think West Ham United boss Manuel Pellegrini will particularly like Turf Moor with him suffering a third defeat as manager today following on from our 1-0 win against Manchester City in 2015 and last season’s 2-0 victory over West Ham.
They are having a difficult time results wise and go into the international break without a win in their last six games and Pellegrini admitted: “I think it’s a good time for a break. We need to work very hard and review this situation. Maybe last season was different but we had less points than we have this season, so I hope we are going to return to a normal level of performance as soon as possible and produce a good performance next time.
“It’s about more than confidence; it’s because we are conceding too many goals. If you look at the three goals we conceded against Newcastle, it was because we didn’t concentrate and the result in the Premier League is decided by one or two points that decide the game, so if you concede so many easy goals, it is very hard to win.”
Once again he wasn’t happy with the way his team conceded the goals. “I think that we made big mistakes in conceding goals,” he added. “We conceded the first goal again from a set piece; from a corner that wasn’t a corner but was a refereeing mistake, but we must defend better from that corner.
“After that, two big mistakes decided the game. Of course, it’s very difficult for a team to play when you concede so many easy goals, not from the play of the opposition but because you are conceding easy goals.
“I prefer not to analyse individual performances. I’m talking about us as a team and I repeat that, if you concede so many goals due to your mistakes rather than the merit of the other team, of course the morale of your team is not the same, you stop playing with any trust and that’s what happened today.”
There was more bad news for him with the injury sustained late in the game by Manual Lanzini. He said of that: “I don’t know exactly in this moment. We will see with the doctor what has really happened with his shoulder, but I think he will probably be out for some time.”
Sean Dyche was a much happier man than he was a week ago but he was quick to remind people that the display at Sheffield United was not the sort of performance we give regularly. ““People soon forget you know. We had one bad performance last weekend, when we were miles off,” he said.
“The players knew they had fallen below the mark; they didn’t need telling from me, but we’ve actually been going quite well this season and I’ve enjoyed what we’ve been trying to achieve. You don’t let one performance force you to over think everything else and today we were right back on it.
“From the very beginning of the game the body language and intent was there and everyone was winning their battles all over the pitch. We could have had more, bit don’t get me wrong, 3-0 is a very healthy scoreline and a difficult one to achieve in the Premier League. The eyes were alive and the belief was back in the performance and over a season that’s what will count. We’ll all take a lucky one or a scruffy one now and again, but you want to perform in games and that was a performance worthy of winning a game.”
Both full backs were left out while Chris Wood returned from injury in a side that saw three changes and Dyche said: “That’s my job and I thought long and hard about that because we have a strong collective here, so when you do make changes you want them, to perform. and they did.”
None more so than Dwight McNeil though whose performance warranted some words from his manager who said of the teenage wide man. ” Dwight had a very difficult game last weekend, but he’s bounced out of that with a very good performance today. His resilience will grow for games like last weekend. He was a long way off, but I try to trust people and give them a chance and he’s performed again today.
“He continues to learn and adapt and part of his development will be having a tough one and seeing if you can go again. I told him this week I’d kick him somewhere if he didn’t start smiling a bit more. I think he’s enjoying his football and that’s the main thing for me.”
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