West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini has stressed the importance of signing off for the international break on a high note when they host Norwich this weekend.
The Hammers have bounced back from their opening day 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City by going unbeaten in their following three matches, including wins at Watford and Newport.
Pellegrini believes if his side can now add a third successive victory against promoted Norwich, who have picked up three points from three games so far, it would have added significance before the Premier League takes a two-week hiatus.
The Chilean said: “Well we hope we can do it. We know we are playing against a good team that is playing good football but I think that it is so important to win the last game before you finish for the international break, because if not you must spend the 15 days without playing with the last defeat inside.
“On the other hand, if you win that game then in those 15 days you can work hard and your mentality can be that you can do important things.”
West Ham secured their opening win of the season last weekend when they saw off Watford 3-1 with summer signing Sebastien Haller netting a brace.
That was the 25-year-old’s first goals for West Ham since his club-record £45million move from Eintracht Frankfurt after returning from a knee injury.
Pellegrini believes the Frenchman has only shown a glimpse of what he is capable of so far, saying: “I think he will improve a lot because it’s not easy to know the Premier League.
“He needs some time to adapt to these kinds of defences, but scoring two goals in a game especially when he came back from a week that he couldn’t play with an injury, I think will help him a lot to continue improving.”
When asked about his attacking mentality, and the attractive football played by his side, Pellegrini said: “I think for the games that is important. I think if you are a fan, the first thing you want to see is your team winning, but I think there are different ways to do it.
“You can win by scoring one goal and go back and try to finish the game as soon as possible, but I don’t think the fans want to see that.
“I think you can continue playing, try to score more goals and try to play attractive football so that we can win the game but also enjoy the game, not just go to suffer for 90 minutes to see if you can win 1-0 or if you are going to lose.
“I think the players are happy about that and I always ask them to enjoy the game and play well.”
Forward Manuel Lanzini has handed the Hammers some good news ahead of the weekend, signing a new long-term contract through to 2023.
The 26-year-old, who has made over 100 Premier League appearances for the club, said: “I’m so happy to sign. I think it’s the best decision for me. It’s a big decision but also easy.”
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