Manuel Pellegrini was frustrated to see his West Ham United side throw away a 1-0 lead and lose to two second half goals against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Hammers looked well set to go on and claim a first win of the season when Marko Arnautovic’s penalty fired them in front on 33 minutes, rewarding an encouraging start which blended high-pressing with eye-catching football.
But as the Hammers retreated in the second period, Bournemouth took full advantage with goals from Callum Wilson and Steve Cook turning the game on its head.
Pellegrini felt his team lacked the conviction to trust in their ability to go on and score a game-clinching second and says a week of hard work on the training ground awaits.
He explained: “I was happy with the first 45 minutes. I thought the team was playing well, we weren’t having too many problems defending and we dominated most parts of the game.
“We scored a goal and had other chances, but I think maybe in the second half the team was lacking trust in keeping that lead and trying to score another goal.
“It should be your best moment because when you are winning 1-0 you have more time to prepare [your attacks]. The other team must give you more space, but we made some mistakes for the goals.
“The first was one player against four, and the second is from a set piece so I feel that we need to work very hard to recover that trust as a team and as individual players.
We scored a goal and had other chances, but I think maybe in the second half the team was lacking trust in keeping that lead and trying to score another goal.
Manuel Pellegrini
“In football, a lot of times you miss some chances, but you must keep playing in the same way.
“At half-time we talked about not to work at just keeping the 1-0, but to carry on with the pressing to try and decide the game in the second half.
“But we couldn’t do it because we stayed on our own side too much and made some mistakes in defending.
“We knew before that we need time when you have a new manager, new players and a new style of play, but most of all, we need to forget about last season, recover the trust in each player and what they can do, and that’s what we must work on in the next week."