There’s another side to the new West Ham United manager, Manuel Pellegrini, one fans and the media seldom saw when he was in charge at Manchester City between 2013-2016. Pellegrini, who won the Premier League in 2014 – with a little help from a Steven Gerrard slip – is a cerebral man who expressed his personality far better when in Spain with Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga than he ever did in England.

City wanted a lower-key coach after the outspoken Roberto Mancini, and the Chilean Pellegrini was content to be it. He bored journalists by saying almost nothing of interest, yet that’s not the real Pellegrini.

I watched his career closely in Spain and interviewed him when he was at Villarreal, a side he led to the Champions League semi-finals in 2006. “I attended an FA coaching course taken by Sir Alex Ferguson at Lilleshall in 1988,” he revealed. “I went to Italy, too, and found both courses very useful. I like English football; it’s a very important league. I like the crowds in England too – they are noisy and create a special ambience. Spanish football is the best in Europe, but I hope to manage in England in the future.”

His wish would come true. Twice over.

Pellegrini’s personality, character and spirit were reflected in his teams. Born in Santiago, he combined a moderate playing career with seven years studying to be a civil engineer. “It’s a very orderly discipline where you have to work in a logical manner,” he said.

Football, however, was always his true vocation, though he had to change his approach somewhat. “My mentality is rational rather than emotional, but in the last few years I tried to be become more passionate, tried to care more about human relationships,” he said. “When I started to be a coach I expected a lot, maybe too much in terms of physical approach, tactics and technique. There was too little emphasis on human relationships.”

Inspired by Benfica’s legendary Sixties Chilean trainer Fernando Riera, Pellegrini managed eight teams in Chile and Ecuador before moving to Argentinian giants River Plate in 2002. He joined Villarreal four years ago, making a positive first impression.

“Pellegrini understood his players,” recalled Diego Forlan of the boss who relaunched his career at Villarreal after a frustrating time at Manchester United. “'Be calm tomorrow,'” he said to me before a big match. “'Don’t be anxious.' Simple, soothing and yet effective words, like hearing a doctor say that you will be OK. Because I trusted him, I believed him. 'i'

“One day, I stayed behind after training to practise shooting. I saw Pellegrini watching and, after a while, went to speak to him.

“'Why do they call you the engineer?' I asked. He told me about his life as an engineer in his home city of Santiago, combining his studies with being a footballer and working on buildings.

“I asked him about earthquakes, as Santiago has suffered large ones. He explained that working on buildings in an earthquake area was another challenge in a tough job, but that he had worked on two buildings which had survived earthquakes. He was proud of that. There was no chance of him leaving anything he did to chance, either as an engineer or a coach.”

Pellegrini arrives at a club in flux, where the move to a soulless new stadium didn’t go down well with fans uneasy at leaving their Upton Park home. David Moyes last season did what was asked of him and kept West Ham up with little money. He arrived when they were 18th and led them to 13th against a backdrop of civil dissent between the fans and the board. Moyes was asked to stay on – and then West Ham’s owners changed their minds.

Pellegrini walks into the void, taking over England’s fourth best-supported club last season, yet one for whom 14th is more realistic than fourth in the league. Whatever he’s asked to achieve, he’s got some task, but then it’s not so daunting as managing Real Madrid, where he was on a hiding to nothing against Guardiola’s Barcelona side. He did get a club-record 96 points in his season there – but Barcelona reached 99 and beat Madrid home and away. He took Malaga – backed by vast Qatari funds – into as far as the Champions League semi-finals in 2013. He’s been in China for the past two years with Hebei China Fortune. That was the 13th club that the 64-year-old, who was a decent centre half for Universidad De Chile between 1973-1986, has managed. With his CV, there’s no shortage of suitors, no shortage of clubs like West Ham looking for a quick solution.

Diego Forlan one told me that Pellegrini was “an intelligent man who works hard”.

“It’s not easy to be a good manager,” Forlan added, “but he makes it looks easy. He’s calm and measured. He doesn’t criticise referees or opponents. He is consistent with the media.”

Pellegrini puts his relaxed style down to having a varied life. “I’m not obsessed by football,” he states. “The manager who just knows about football is lacking. To lead a group of players is to lead a group of people with different ways of thinking. You have to be prepared for that and know more than just about football. You have to speak a lot to the players, have to make them feel what you expect of them. Have to convince them. Therefore it’s very important for a coach to have a life outside football. Each afternoon, after resting, I study, read and watch movies, as well as other sports. At night I dedicate two more hours to football and at eleven I turn the lights off.”

Amid the chaos at West Ham, perhaps it’s not such a bad idea to bring some order and structure – as well as some much-needed calm.