Written by: @daena_bodie

At this stage last season, the Hammers were sitting at the wrong end of the league with three points to their name and had conceded a worrying 11 goals. However, the club is now in its second year under Pellegrini and there are signs of promise as the 2019/20 season rolls on, but the question still remains. Is it too early to be discussing progress and is the club finally moving in the right direction?

The Hammers are five games into the new season and actually have some points on the board, 8 to be exact. With a hard-fought draw against Brighton, back to back wins against Watford and Norwich, and another difficult point picked up on the road against Villa, Pellegrini’s men are already performing better early in this season compared to last.

While it is definitely still early days in 2019/20, there are a lot of signs that progress is being made. It isn’t just the points on the board that will incite some joy within the West Ham faithful, but also the style of play and the caliber of players in the first team squad. Go back to last season and the recent draw against Villa with 10-men might have easily ended in defeat, but the Hammers showed significant fight to keep another clean sheet and hold on to an important point.

Outside of just the points total, West Ham’s starting XI is one of the strongest the club has had in years and with Pellegrini’s attacking style of play, the Hammers are a real handful going forward. You only have to look at players like Anderson, Lanzini, and Haller to see a dynamic and threatening attack. Outside of those three, West Ham have Yarmolenko who is working his way back up to full speed and Pablo Fornals who is still getting to grips with the Premier League, but already looks like a real prospect.

Despite the controversial moments that have surrounded the club over the past few years, having Pellegrini at the helm has shown that his appointment was a clever bit of business from the board.  The recruitment from Husillos and Pellegrini has been spot on and the environment and attitude that has been instilled in the squad is beginning to shine through.

While it might still be early days to expect a top six finish, it definitely isn’t too soon to be excited about the progression being made at the club. The fact of the matter is that West Ham are finally moving in the right direction.