Manuel Pellegrini has claimed that the form of goalkeeper Roberto contributed to his sacking at West Ham.
Pellegrini and sporting director Mario Husillos - who was also sacked - brought Roberto to the club in the summer as back-up to Lukasz Fabianski, only for the first-choice keeper to be sidelined for four months within weeks of the season starting.
Roberto was subsequently thrust into the starting XI and complicit in a number of goals conceded, most notably slapping the ball onto a Burnley player and then the back of his net from a routine corner during a 3-0 defeat at Turf Moor. He has now been sent out on loan to Alaves.
Pellegrini was sacked following a 2-1 defeat to Leicester on December 28, though under David Moyes the Hammers have since slipped into the relegation zone.
"Unfortunately, we had a major injury, from the goalkeeper [Fabianski] of four months. And the performance of the second [Roberto] was not as expected," Pellegrini told Chilean newspaper La Tercera.
"He had responsibility in several goals. The team was losing confidence, the results were denied and the owners decided to change.
"In football, the first thing that one must understand is that you always have the responsibility. You can fall into those negative streaks.
"The players lose confidence and you, as a coach, must find the solution. You don't always find it and sometimes the board don't have patience.
"It has happened to [Jose] Mourinho, [Mauricio] Pochettino, [Unai] Emery … What happens is that it never happened to me."
West Ham face a daunting run to turn their form around and climb out of the bottom three, with trips to Manchester City and Liverpool either side of their winter break.
