Pellegrini remains calm  after his side loses to West Ham

Last season Sam Allardyce’s side were beaten four times by Manchester City, conceding 14 goals in the process, but this season’s new look West Ham defeated the Premier League champions in a thrilling early afternoon showdown. Achieving this has confirmed them as the surprise team of the season and candidates for an enduring place in the top four.

City are five points behind the leaders Chelsea, who have 22 points and can extend the gap with a win or draw against Manchester United on Sunday.

“We are just starting the season and we have 87 points left to play for. So it is early,” said Pellegrini.

“We’ll continue fighting as there is no title being handed out at the moment.”

The defeat adds to a difficult week for the league champions after a 2-2 draw against CSKA Moscow in the champions league, a game where they let a two-goal lead slip.

The loss at Upton park means Pellegrini’s side have dropped 10 points in their opening nine games.

The Chilean was quick to point out that last season his team was also off the pace after the same amount of games.

On the back of a defeat by Chelsea, City found themselves in seventh in the League after nine games and six points behind Arsenal.

Pellegrini insisted he continued “trusting” in his players but acknowledged City’s first-half performance and lack of cutting edge cost them against the Hammers.

Efforts from Morgan Amalfitano and Diafra Sakho at Upton Park left City 2-0 down and, despite David Silva pulling a goal back, they could not prevent a second league defeat of the season.

“West Ham played very well and with a very high intensity,” said Pellegrini.

“We had a lot of chances to score but it is difficult to win if you don’t take them.

“We were very unlucky in the second half – we hit the post and went just wide with another.

“In the first half we did not play with enough intensity. I thought they would be more tired in the second half and we would be able to move the ball easier, which we did – but in the end we couldn’t take our chances.

“I don’t think it was a fault of our team for the performance in the first half, it was more about the intensity of West Ham and you must credit them for that.”