Manuel Pellegrini staved off the sack at the weekend by defeating Southampton to avoid dropping into the bottom three, but it may yet still be too late for the West Ham manager.
In order to get past Saturday’s opponents, the ex-Manchester City and Real Madrid boss started Sebastien Haller and Michail Antonio up front alongside one another for the first time, having neglected his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation. The Hammers remain on the brink, a meagre four points off the drop zone, and crisis has not yet been averted for their Chilean manager.
Together, Haller and Antonio formed a fearsome strike partnership, but tricky December fixtures against Crystal Palace and Leicester City mean Pellegrini’s role at the helm is no certainty. Failing to progress up the Premier League table away from danger could spell the end for the former top-flight winning manager, who had five points out of 30 heading into the Southampton clash. He will almost undoubtedly start the pair of strikers alongside one another again for both upcoming fixtures, and it is their responsibility to try and get their manager out of trouble.
Against the Saints Haller did precisely what his manager required of him, scoring for the first time in nine games after an intelligent knockdown from Pablo Fornals. That was the Spaniard’s third assist in his past four matches and his service for the pair is crucial to the Hammers finding the net. Haller and Antonio are a partnership in the classic ‘big man little man’ mould. The Frenchman is capable of holding the ball up or scoring from inside the box, while Antonio is lethal in behind defences, and is also capable of providing an aerial threat.
The only issue for Pellegrini is that he might have discovered the duo too late in his tenure due to his reluctance to start more than one striker. With tricky games against a notoriously stubborn Crystal Palace defence and a second-placed Leicester City side, there may not be enough the pair can do to ensure their manager remains in charge.
