West Ham United joint-chairman David Sullivan says the club have “listened to the fans” with the “ambitious” appointment of new manager Manuel Pellegrini.
The Chilean, 64, won the Premier League title with Manchester City in 2014 and his knowledge of England’s top flight was a key factor in his appointment.
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“He is one of the world’s most respected football coaches and we look forward to working with him,” said Sullivan. “It was important that we appointed someone with knowledge and experience of the Premier League, who already has an understanding - not only of the teams and players we face - but of West Ham United and our ambitions.
“Manuel brings a reputation for attacking football and getting the best out of his players. We believe he will attract new talent to the London Stadium as well as improving the current squad.
“We have listened to fans who asked us to be ambitious. We hope they agree it is an exciting appointment.”
Pellegrini arrives at West Ham having previously been head coach of Hebei China Fortune in China. He is excited by the role at the Hammers and says European qualification is his aim.
“My mentality is always to have a winning mentality and I will hope that I can repeat here what I did with all my clubs here in Europe, where I have always arrived in European competition,” he said.
“I know that this league is very good and it’s not easy to do it, but I think that working all together with the owners, the technical staff and the fans, we have an important power and can think about reaching important targets for the season.
“I think West Ham has a very good team. I know all of the players and I saw most of the games that they played last season, so I am sure that, with the players we have in this moment in the squad, and bringing maybe another four or five players in, we are going to have a strong team.”