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Finishing inside the Premier League top 12 is incredibly vital for Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham United this season.

Why is it so important?

At the end of last season, many in the footballing world presumed that David Moyes had done enough to be given the manager's job permanently in east London.

Taking over from Slaven Bilic with the club lurching on the edge of the drop zone and then falling into it so early in his reign, the Scot led a turnaround in Stratford.

Getting the best out of players like Marko Arnautovic in the way that Pellegrini perhaps hasn't so far, Moyes revitalised the Hammers and, barring a few bumps along the way, led them to safety with breathing space.

More importantly, he managed to steer an injury-hit team into mid-table with a 13th place finish being achieved after home victory over Everton on the final day.

However, despite all of this, David Gold and David Sullivan decided to part ways with him at the end of the season, not offering the veteran a new contract and instead appointing the Chilean.

This was nothing short of a bold move by the Irons.

The only way to judge whether it has been the right move so far will be to see if Pellegrini can better the finish of Moyes by finishing in the top 12. After all, he has enjoyed far better resources.

How likely is it?

Luckily for Pellegrini, his team's terrible four games winless streak in the league has not seen them fall out of the top 12.

However, two of the matches that remain are against sides above the East Londoners in the table, with the first being the trip to Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

The other is another away game at Europe-chasing Watford and the only home encounter of the run-in is a treacherous one against an outfit fighting for their lives in Southampton.

West Ham are going to have to play very well in the final three tests to avoid being caught by the likes of Crystal Palace, Newcastle United, AFC Bournemouth and Burnley and it's up to Pellegrini to motivate his players one last time this term to show any signs of progress for the Hammers under his regime so far.