Manuel Pellegrini continues to be happy with the Hammers build-up to the new season.
The victory over Wycombe Wanderers may not have been the most impressive but that is not the central issue as far as the manager is concerned.
He explained to www.whufc.com: “The pre-season games are useful for what we need in this moment, which is to recover our physical shape and to try to return to our best, technically. And to see different players, young players, so I think today was the same as the first game. It was a useful game.
“We worked very hard for eleven days in Switzerland and, for some of those days, we worked three times a day. We have a very good answer to that work. It’s not easy, when you’ve had forty days of holiday, to return to your competitive mind and your best physical shape.
“But our players are working hard and we have time to get to our best for the beginning of the Premier League season.”
He added: “West Ham, throughout history, have always been a team that likes to play offensive football, and to score goals. Yarmolenko is a technical player.
“I think all the players we are bringing in, including Yarmolenko,have those same characteristics. Technical players that will score goals.”
Pellegrini says he is not surprised by Marko Arnaotovic – who scored yesterday’s winner – adding: “I can’t say I’ve been impressed by Arnautovic, because I know him.
or the three years I was at Manchester City I played a lot of times against him and he was always a good player who could do different things.
Maybe last season was his best season in England, especially in the second half of the season. He demonstrated how important he can be. He’s always running, he supports the ball and he scores. If he can repeat the second half that he had last season, he will be a top player.”
“I will say the same thing I said about Arnautovic about the West Ham fans. I cannot be impressed by West Ham fans because I know that over the years, the way they have supported their team has been unbelievable. They are one of the best groups of fans in the Premier League.
He’s probably not impressed by AC either because he’s doing what he always does too.