Striker scored twice in 3-0 victory over Newcastle
Saturday 1 December 2018 18:48, UK
Manuel Pellegrini hopes Javier Hernandez's confidence will be lifted by his two-goal haul in West Ham's 3-0 win at Newcastle.
Hernandez was handed only his third Premier League start of the season at St James' Park and responded with a goal in each half as the Hammers produced an assured display.
Newcastle 0-3 West Ham
As it happened
Asked about Hernandez scoring twice, West Ham boss Pellegrini told Sky Sports: "I think that will be very useful for him because he has had a difficult season.
"We worked hard with a very short holiday after the World Cup, without a normal pre-season, and after that he was ill for five weeks with a virus. Now he is recovered and today he had the chance to start and he played the way we need for this team."
West Ham have been in a poor run of form recently but they have a decent-looking run of fixtures ahead of Christmas and do not face any of the top six until January 12.
"It's maybe the most important month of the Premier League season," said Pellegrini.
"Every team has to play seven games at least and we have started on the right foot. Now we have two games at home and we must be very concentrated and need to recover those points we lost at the start of the season. I hope we can repeat this display.
"It's great when you see a performance like today. We were very consistent, very balanced. We scored three goals, created a lot more chances, and we keep a clean sheet, so that is comforting for a manager to see the team working that way."
