Manuel Pellegrini calls on West Ham to beat 'tricky' Fulham | OneFootball

Manuel Pellegrini has urged his West Ham side to “start fast” against Fulham on Friday or risk going down to an embarrassing defeat.

The Hammers host their London rivals this weekend with the Cottagers marooned in the relegation zone and struggling for points.

But Pellegrini has insisted that his side aren’t taking anything for granted.

“It’s a tricky game against a team fighting not to be relegated,” he told reporters.

“They have a good manager and signed a lot of good players, so it will not be easy if we don’t play as we did against Liverpool and in the first 45 minutes against Crystal Palace.

“We must start the game fast and play well with a good tempo to get the result that we want.”

The Chilean went on to praise the work done by Claudio Ranieri despite some fans at Craven Cottage getting restless with the title winner.

“As a manager, if you don’t have quality in your players, it’s very difficult to win the league.

“What he did was amazing because nobody expected Leicester to win the league, getting the best out of his players.

“In that moment I was in Manchester City and when we started the second half of the season, I was sure Leicester were going to be a candidate to win it at the end of the season and they did.

“Ranieri did a very good job for them.”