Pablo Zabaleta believes the West Ham fans will see “attractive” and winning football under new manager Manuel Pellegrini.

The full-back, who has played under Pellegrini in Argentina and then at Manchester City, also said that the Chilean is “a quiet person” but “strong in his belief about how football should be played”.

Zabaleta, 33, was a member of Pellegrini’s City team that won the Premier League in 2014 but that wasn’t the first time the pair had been together. “When I was a teenager with the San Lorenzo club in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I was in the second team and he was the first-team manager,” said Zabaleta, who signed a two-year deal with the Hammers last summer after being released by City.

“Manuel did well when we were at San Lorenzo,” said the Argentine defender. “He had success there, he built a good team, won the Primera Division title and set some records.

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“After he left San Lorenzo he went to River Plate and won another Primera Division title. He was always keen on youth development, bringing through good young players who went on to do very well.

“He went to Spain with Villarreal and did a great job, taking them to the Champions League semi-finals. I played against his teams many times when I was with Espanyol and they were always very tough opponents.

“He also did well at Real Madrid and Malaga, then he came to City, where we worked together for three seasons and won the Premier League title.

“He’s a quiet person but he is also very determined and very strong in his belief about how football should be played.

“He likes to play good, attractive football and he plays to win, which the fans of all the clubs he has managed have always enjoyed. He has always been a good manager and I am sure he will show that again with West Ham.”