There is nothing like piling the pressure on your manager to deliver on a target before the season has even started by that is what West Ham co-chairman David Gold has done to Manuel Pellegrini.
West Ham are expected to improve on their tenth-place position the secured in the Premier League last season in Pellegrini's first season in charge but many observers thing seventh might be the ceiling.
But not for co-chairman Gold, it seems.
Responding to a question on Twitter, the 82-year-old multi-millionaire said there is belief within the club's hierarchy that Pellegrini can steer West Ham to a top six finish in the Premier League next season.
The Hammers were in the race for a seventh place finish last season around the turn of the year after going on a four-game winning streak in December but they struggled for consistency in 2019 and were especially poor away from home as Pellegrini's men tailed off in their quest for the Europa League qualification spot.
Whether the "some people" Gold refers to includes himself remains to be seen but the co-owner is certainly not lacking any confidence in his manager.
Gold and co-chairman David Sullivan sanctioned an £89.5m spending spree last summer as the club broke its transfer record twice following the capture of Pellegrini from Hebei China Fortune.
The top brass duo at the Hammers are not expected to make as much cash available to Pellegrini this summer, with the manager needed to sell players to boost his transfer budget and he has already done that by dispensing with the services of Lucas Perez and Edimilson Fernandes to Alaves and Mainz respectively.
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