Pablo Zabaleta has never doubted the effectiveness of Manuel Pellegrini’s tactical approach and thus is the least surprised person associated with the club that they are now starting to reap rewards.
Zaba grew close to the Hammers manager in their time together at Manchester City and was part of a team that enjoyed huge success under him.
And in the early stages of the season when the results were thoroughly awful the veteran defender made it clear things would turn around.
Now speaking to www.whufc.com he says: “It’s true we didn’t have the best start to the season because we had at least seven or eight new players and to change into a new style always takes a bit of time, but it was all about confidence.
“It was a tough beginning of the season when we lost four games in a row, but then that win against Everton showed us that we have got enough quality to play good football and this is the only way for the manager to play.
“He believes in this and, if you look at all the teams he has been working with, it was quite similar to Saturday – always an attacking team, whether you play at home or away, against any team.
“We were creating chances in every game and we just needed to be more clinical and take our chances and we did that on Saturday.”
Mark Noble’s absence saw Zabaleta captain West Ham to victory over Burnley on Saturday and will again lead the team out at Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
His leadership, knowledge and trust in his manager’s methods have been, and will continue to be, an important factor in West Ham’s success or otherwise.
He added: “Of course, it was important for the experienced players to stay calm during that time. I knew Manuel from my three years at Manchester City and I know his personality.
“He is a manager who is not going to change, even if he has a couple of bad results. He has his way of thinking and his style of football and we needed to believe in it.
“Now, we’ve got eleven points which is good but obviously we want to consider playing in the same way and winning games, which is also important, because we want to be not too close to the relegation zone.”
