Manuel Pellegrini calls for West Ham to 'keep playing as they are'
Sunday 3 March 2019 09:33, UK
Manuel Pellegrini called for West Ham to "keep playing as they are" on their march towards a European qualification spot after his side's 2-0 win over Newcastle.
First-half goals from Declan Rice and Nark Noble earned West Ham their second successive home win, meaning they remain unbeaten at London Stadium in 2019.
The result took West Ham above Everton into ninth, closing the gap on seventh which, depending on who wins the FA Cup, could represent a path into the Europa League - something Pellegrini believes could be achievable if his side maintain their current form.
"We are very pleased," Pellegrini told Sky Sports. "It was important for us to have a good performance both attacking and defending, getting that clean sheet and two score two goals.
"From the very first minute we started to try and win the match.
"Our chances [of a top seven finish] are the same. We need to continue playing in exactly the same way. We now need to go and beat Cardiff and after that we need to play two games more here against Huddersfield and Everton.
"We continue having a gap to Wolverhampton, but we just need to keep playing as we are."
Manuel Lanzini started his first Premier League game of the season after battling back from injury, competing 90 minutes. Pellegrini was full of praise for the Argentina international, as well as further eulogising over man of the match Rice.
"He [Lanzini] changed the play of the team. He passed the ball, tried to do different things and always tried to play forward to give assistance to the forwards. My idea was not to play for the whole game, but he told me he was fine so he carried on. I am very happy for him and the team.
"I am very happy for Declan because in every game he is improving and I am happy for the team. Both goals came from set pieces and we prepared for them, the way Robert [Snodgrass] put the ball in.
