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David Martin admits West Ham squad turned on player Pellegrini signed in 2019
Goalkeeper David Martin has been speaking about his time at West Ham United and has recounted the story of the ill-fated shot stopped Roberto.
the Iron Cast Podcast, Martin recounted his time playing at the London Stadium.
David Martin grew up around West Ham as his father Alvin played nearly 500 games for the club.
Initially growing up as a defender in Liverpool’s academy, Martin eventually ended up between the sticks and went on to have a successful career playing across the EFL.
Currently attached to Southend United, the 37-year-old is best known for his time at MK Dons where he played for seven years.
However, after a short stint at Millwall, he was offered the chance to join his boyhood club by Manuel Pellegrini.
Martin joined West Ham as a third-choice goalkeeper at the as Roberto.
The Spanish goalkeeper had a decent reputation in Spain, but after deputising for the injured Lukasz Fabianski, things quickly started to fall apart.
He was loaned out six months after just six months and was never seen again at the London Stadium.
Martin shares story about West Ham keeper Roberto
Talking about the Spaniard’s tough stint at the club, : “I could feel the pressure around and for me, I just wanted Roberto to do well.
“Genuinely, hand on heart, I wanted the club to do well and I wanted him to succeed.
“But then also in the back of your mind, I remember even seeing an interview from you [James Collins] and you were saying, you’ve got to play Dave Martin.
“I was supporting him in training as much as I could, after games talking to him, it was tough.
“You could feel it in the stands, you could feel it on social media, reading online.
“For Roberto, I felt really sorry for him.
“He was a good goalkeeper, you could it was definitely [affecting him in training], the last three or four games, it was really getting to him.
“After the Burnley [match] especially, even the players were really starting to turn negatively towards him which was really hard to watch as well.
“And you could see coming in in the morning he didn’t want to speak.
“Going into games, he was actually making some saves, but like what we said before, you’re judged as a goalkeeper by your mistakes and he was making mistakes, there’s no getting around it.”
Martin ended up replacing Roberto for West Ham’s clash against Chelsea and kept a fantastic clean sheet in a 1-0 win.
He couldn’t contain his emotions at full-time and his embrace with his father in the stands is an iconic image for many fans.
Roberto managed to make a good impression during his loan spell away from West Ham, but Pellegrini has admitted the Spaniard’s form might have played a part in him losing his job.
West Ham fans can be very glad they now have two very talented goalkeepers to rely on right now in Fabianski and Alphonse Areola.