New West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has promised to deliver attractive football that he hopes will get the club back into Europe.
The 64-year-old says he was encouraged to take the job after positive talks with joint-chairman David Sullivan and is determined to take the club into European competition.
Indeed, sources have told Goal that Pellegrini has informed Sullivan that he feels he can take this Hammers team into the Champions League, provided he is allowed to strengthen his squad. It is understood he will be allowed to appoint his own Head of Recruitment, as a result.
"I'm very happy because I return to a league that, for me, and I always say the same thing, is the best league in the world, and especially because I come here to West Ham because every time I spoke with the owner Mr Sullivan, I always had the feeling that he wants me," he told the club's website.
"I think that West Ham had a difficult season last season and I hope that next season we are going to play football that will delight the fans. I always play attacking football and we must try to reach important targets in the season.
"Every time you have a meeting you have feelings about whether it was a good meeting or a bad meeting and I had the meeting with him, just talking about football and talking about West Ham. We agreed on a lot of things he wants for this club in the way I think a football club must be managed, so we have a lot of common ideas.
"I am excited about this project. My mentality is always to have a winning mentality and I will hope that I can repeat here what I did with all my clubs here in Europe, where I have always arrived in European competition.
"I know that this league is very good and it's not easy to do it, but I think that working all together with the owners, the technical staff and the fans, we have an important power and can think about reaching important targets for the season.
"I think West Ham has a very good team. I know all of the players and I saw most of the games that they played last season, so I am sure that, with the players we have in this moment in the squad, and bringing maybe another four or five players in, we are going to have a strong team."
