West Ham United parts ways with Manuel Pellegrini

West Ham United announced that manager Manuel Pellegrini left the club following Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Leicester City.

The Irons are mired in a relegation fight, sitting just one point clear of the Bottom Three more than halfway through the season.

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There were high hopes that Pellegrini and lively attackers Sebastien Haller and Felipe Anderson could drive the Irons into the Top Seven conversation.

Yet disappointment after disappointment and regression from their defenders has West Ham well off the pace on a wide open table.

“It is with great disappointment that we’ve had to make this decision. Manuel is a gentleman and it has been a real pleasure to work with someone of his calibre. However, it has become clear that that a change is required to get the Club back on track in line with our ambitions this season. We felt it was necessary to act now in order to give the new manager as much time as possible to try and achieve that goal.”

The Irons next face a relegation six-pointer against Bournemouth before meeting Sheffield United, and the club simply couldn’t just hope things would sort themselves out.

Pellegrini won the Premier League and two League Cups with Man City, but couldn’t find a winning route at West Ham. He’s won silverware in England, Spain, Chile, Ecuador, and Argentina.

What’s next for West Ham? Like Everton, the club needs new blood and not a stale rehire. Will the Irons faithful get that?