West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini is fighting for his job at the club, but Ralph Hasenhuttl believes his opposite number is still ‘fantastic’.
Speaking ahead of Southampton’s meeting with the Hammers, the Austrian was quizzed about his thoughts on the Chilean, who could be sacked if his side do not come away from St Mary’s with three vital points.
Saints will move out of the relegation zone and above West Ham if they come out on top, but it is set to be a closely-contested affair.
As quoted by Southampton’s official club website, Hasenhuttl was quick to lavish praise on Pellegrini. He said:
I must say that I see him as a fantastic manager. He has played twice and won twice against me.
I think he has a lot of experience and we all have situations, moments and periods where things don’t go the way you want them to go with problems and injuries.
I don’t have to tell him what to do because he is a very experienced guy. I think all the managers in the Premier League do a fantastic job.
Read Southampton’s verdict
Pellegrini is a manager who has achieved a lot during his career in the game, but he has been quite simply underwhelming at West Ham.
He has had plenty of time to shape his squad in the way he sees fit and has been adequately supported with a considerable amount of money.
Pellegrini isn’t getting the most out of talents like Sebastien Haller and Felipe Anderson, so it is really no surprise to see his job on the line.
However, as Hasenhuttl rightly points out, he has got the better of the Saints boss on two occasions already, and it will still be a tough game on Saturday.
