West Ham’s start to the season hasn’t been how many people would have dreamed it would be but positive signs were shown on Saturday, where the Hammers fought back from 2-0 down against Southampton to turn the game on it’s head.
Unfortunately, it all counted for nothing in the end for Slaven Bilic’s side as a late penalty converted by Charlie Austin condemned West Ham to a second consecutive defeat to start the new Premier League season.
In the defeat to the Saints, Javier Hernandez scored his first goals for the Hammers following his return to the Premier League in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen, and showed fans a glimpse of what they can expect as the season progresses.
Signing for just £16m, Hernandez showed he stills has the instinct for goals and that is extremely valuable for the Hammers this season- as it’s something they lacked last year, which played a part in the struggles of the East London side.
Bilic, who praised his side’s spirit after the defeat to Southampton on Saturday, is certainly pleased by the early performances from his new striker- heralding the former Manchester United striker as a bargain purchase.
Quoted by The Daily Express, the Croatian boss said:
“We are very pleased. He was our target and it was a long shot but we never gave up on him. It was always possible and we had to fight with a few other clubs of course but we were delighted when we did it because knew what we were getting.”
“He knows that I like him because we wanted to get him when he left Manchester United for Leverkusen. I called him then on the phone but he opted for Leverkusen. He called and said: ‘Thank you gaffer, but I’m going to Germany but maybe we’ll cross paths again’.”
“And he showed today exactly what he’s all about – plus the work he did when we were down to 10 men, in left midfield in the second half or, when it was needed, to be like a left back.”
West Ham’s challenging start to the season continues this weekend against Rafael Benitez’ Newcastle United, with the Magpies also under pressure having lost both of their opening games in their return to the top-flight.