Pellegrini backs Carroll to rediscover his form after a prolonged absence
West Ham missed the opportunity to go higher up the table after their 1-0 humbling of Arsenal last week as the Hammers lost 2-0 away at Bournemouth on Saturday.
Andy Carroll started up front for the Hammers in the absence of Marko Arnautovic, who was left out of the squad amidst speculations surrounding his future, but the Englishman let his team down, missing a golden opportunity in the second half.
Just five minutes after Carroll had fired his shot over the post from close range, Callum Wilson punished the visitors with his sixth goal in as many games against his favourite opposition. Josh King added the second in injury time from a counter-attack to seal all three points for the Cherries.
Carroll has spent large quarters of the season on the sidelines with an injury but the onus is currently on him to rediscover his form, with Arnautovic linked with a move to the Chinese Super League.
Reflecting on Carroll’s missed chance in the second half, Manuel Pellegrini assured the fans that the talisman will return to his best but he needs time to find his feet after a prolonged absence.
“Andy had a very clear chance, but he’s had a very long time without playing. It’s not easy for a player to recover immediately his best shape but he is working hard and I’m sure he’ll improve game by game.
“They’re a team who play very well but they didn’t create one clear chance in the first half. We didn’t take our option to take the lead.”
The Chilean was also disappointed with his team’s performance against Bournemouth after beating Arsenal last week.
Pellegrini added: “Of course, I’m disappointed with the result because it was a very close game in the opening 45 minutes. In the second half, we had a clear option to score the first goal.
“They scored a beautiful goal but with a lot of luck with the rebound going to the exact position for their player to shoot. It was a good reaction from our team but we couldn’t score.
“If you don’t score you can’t win games, so I’m disappointed. We had an option to move higher in the table. Football is like that, you have games when you play better than the result.”
