Alan Curbishley believes that West Ham’s new manager Manuel Pellegrini is capable of delivering the attractive football their supporters demand – as long as the club can can recruit the right players.
He is also convinced that if he does so, their ongoing problems with the London Stadium will be overcome.
Pellegrini this week signed a three-year contract to become David Moyes’ successor and will be expected to inspire a significant improvement following their consistent struggles in the two years since leaving Upton Park.
He built his reputation in England by winning the Premier League title with Manchester City having previously excelled in Spain, but at West Ham he inherits an inferior squad undermined by a succession of poor signings.
During Curbishley’s 18 months as the club’s manager he oversaw a successful battle against relegation before leading them to a mid-table finish. They have struggled for stability in the 10 years since, and he told the Press Association: “Pellegrini, at Man City, played some wonderful football. You can’t get away from that.
“But he did have some tools to play with. It’ll be interesting to see what sort of players he can attract.
“The statement coming out of the club is about the brand of football he plays. We’ve got to counter that with the fact when David Moyes went in there they were in the bottom three and struggling, (when) perhaps the brand of football isn’t going to be that exciting. They’re down the bottom for a reason and it’s difficult to get out of it.
“Everybody at West Ham is obviously hoping for better things. The last couple of seasons have been really tough at the new stadium, not just because of the performances on the pitch; we all know about the other reasons. A lot of that can be forgotten if Pellegrini can come in and change the fortunes on the pitch.
“He’s been in the Premier League before, which is always a bonus with a foreign manager coming in. It’s just a question of who he can attract to the club to play the brand of football he wants to play. The response from the fans should be favourable.”
West Ham most recently encountered problems when those present invaded the pitch during March’s 3-0 home defeat by Burnley, before protesting against club owners David Gold and David Sullivan.
“When they’ve played well at the stadium, the atmosphere’s been okay,” said the 60-year-old Curbishley, speaking at a Football Whispers event.
“If Pellegrini can get the team up and running and winning some football matches then perhaps the atmosphere at the ground will change.
“Results make a massive difference. The one plus you can’t take away from the new stadium is West Ham have gone from 35,000 to 60,000; it’s massive. That takes them into the top three or four in the Premier League.”