Marko Arnautovic still has distance to travel to convince West Ham fans of his commitment

Marko Arnautovic puts hands to his head
Marko Arnautovic didn't have his best game against Huddersfield, but he wasn't alone, according to Manuel Pellegrini Credit: Getty Images

A stirring late comeback may have won the hearts and minds of West Ham United supporters, for one more week at least, but Marko Arnautovic has some distance still to travel to convince them of his commitment.

Manuel Pellegrini, the manager, was at pains not to focus on Arnautovic’s poor display after he was ­replaced in the 67th minute to a chorus of boos and jeers from home fans. But, making his first start since January, and after his non-too-subtle handling of a potential big-money move to China, Arnautovic hardly endeared himself to the near-60,000 crowd.

“I think that you insist on trying to make Arnautovic guilty,” said Pellegrini when quizzed about the fans’ response. 

“He’s not guilty in the way we play. He didn’t play well but he was not the only player. The fans, if a player plays well, they will accept him, not only with Marko, with every player. The fans want to see their team winning. After that, they want to see the player giving all they have, after that they want to see quality and if, in this moment it’s not your day, it happens to all the players in every club in the world.”

Still, not “all the players in every club in the world” behave as Arnautovic did in January, when he seemed destined to leave the club and, with West Ham trailing 3-1 to all-but-relegated Huddersfield when Pellegrini hauled him off, he was never going to be afforded the benefit of the doubt.

Hernandez scores
Hernandez came on and scored twice late on to secure victory for West Ham Credit: Reuters

The Austria international’s poor performance was put into even sharper perspective when Javier Hernandez, Samir Nasri and Lucas Perez, Pellegrini’s substitutes, helped turn the game around with three goals in the final 15 minutes.

That was just as well, given West Ham’s poor showing in the defeat at Cardiff a week earlier and a start to 2019 which has left Pellegrini underwhelmed and, perhaps, under mounting pressure.

“I was furious in the first 45 minutes because it is not the first time that happened to this team,” he said. “It happened with Cardiff, before that it happened with Wimbledon. Maybe this weekend we might have been playing in the FA Cup.”

Defeat summed up Huddersfield’s their troubles.

Mark Notble is congratulated by team-mates
Mark Noble also scored from the penalty spot Credit: Reuters

Behind to Mark Noble’s penalty, Juninho Bacuna equalised and striker Karlan Ahearne-Grant scored twice before the late West Ham comeback, featuring an Angelo Ogbonna header and two instinctive finishes from Hernandez.

For a Huddersfield team who may well now be relegated before March is complete, it was a result that underlined their fragile mental state.

“It is mental,” said Bacuna. “After we lost the goal, 3-2, you saw everybody had their heads down, we didn’t stay together. It will take time but we have to switch on because there are still seven games left and we have to try to play like we did for the first 60 minutes.”

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