West Ham player says he’s had a chat with Pellegrini after being left out, reveals manager’s message

Andriy Yarmolenko isn’t having the best starts to his West Ham career. The Ukraine international hasn’t yet started a Premier League match and it’s creating waves in his home country.

There’s special surprise given how poorly West Ham are doing, and a worry that if Yarmolenko can’t can get in Manuel Pellegrini’s team when they’re playing bad, whether he’ll ever be a regular at all.

This week there’s even been suggestions in the Ukraine media that the footballer could soon be heading back to former club Dynamo Kyiv, simply because it looks like his experience outside of the country hasn’t been so good.

Now Yarmolenko has spoken himself.

Giving an interview to Zbirna, the West Ham player was asked how he feels with the club being bottom of the league, and explained: “It’s always hard to lose, but now I have completely switched to concentrating on the Ukrainian team. When I return to the club, we will get out of this situation. I’m sure we’ll succeed. At West Ham, there’s a good coach, high-quality footballers, but this is the championship of England, which is probably the most unpredictable in Europe.”

Asked if Manuel Pellegrini has explained his decision not to start Yarmolenko in matches, the former Borussia Dortmund player revealed they’ve had a chat about things: “I talked with him and he said that I shouldn’t worry and that everything will be fine. Do not forget that because of the injury, I missed the preseason training. It takes a little time to fully understand what English football is like.”