Pablo Zabaleta says Manuel Pellegrini is struggling with ‘lack of quality’ at West Ham

West Ham have picked up zero points from four games this season

They had a busy summer, bringing in the likes of Carlos Sánchez, Issa Diop and Felipe Anderson, but as we have learned many times before, that does not guarantee a successful season. West Ham are in a rot. Their soft centre is being exposed week in week out, as opposition forwards maraud through their non-existent midfield and split the defence open like a hot knife through butter. Their midfield duo of Mark Noble and Jack Wilshere, dubbed by many as the 'most Brexit' midfield of all time, is living up to its name: plenty of passion, no substance. Marko Arnautović is struggling to replicate the goalscoring form he found under David Moyes last season and Felipe Anderson looks lively, but unable to knit the team together. It was thought that Manuel Pellegrini's appointment would take West Ham up to the next level - he's a Premier League winner after all. But the Chilean manager has struggled to get his West Ham team to carry out his instructions. Pablo Zabaleta, who won the league with Pellegini at Manchester City in 2014, believes that the coach is struggling to adapt to playing with worse players. "For the first time maybe he doesn't have the same quality in the team like he had before. So maybe it'll take more time than at other clubs for him to get everything right," Zabaleta said.

"At Manchester City, there was so much quality, we won games easily. Here it's not the same. But he's a great man, a good manager and will try to find the best way to get the results," he added.

If West Ham pull the trigger and sack Pellegrini before the fifth gameweek of the Premier League season, reports have suggested that West Ham will have to shell out £15million in compensation to the manager.