West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has admitted the club is in trouble and criticized the lack of courage shown during the 2-1 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road.
The defeat, which comes just four days after a miserable 2-0 defeat to Brentford at the London Stadium, means the Hammers remain bottom of the Premier League after their joint worst start to the season.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side conceded their first goal after three minutes when Brendan Aronson tapped in the ball from close range, before Joe Rodon doubled Leeds’ advantage 10 minutes later when he headed in Sean Longstaff’s corner.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
WATCH FREE: Highlights from Leeds’ win over West Ham in the Premier League
The second goal was the ninth goal West Ham have conceded from a corner this season, three more than any other team and the most in the history of the competition after nine games.
Bowen’s assist for Matheus Fernandes to reduce the deficit and spark late hope at Elland Road only masked the cracks in another disastrous performance from his side, with their captain condemning a lack of courage shown after the game.
“This is the Premier League and we have to really reach out. We have to face reality because we are in a real situation. The sooner things hit everyone, the faster things need to change,” Bowen said in the aftermath of the defeat.
West Ham lost to Leeds again.
“You can’t come out here and say anything different. You can’t say anything positive or anything like that. We have to face the reality of what we’re in. It’s second place and we’re in trouble now. We have to accept that.
“It’s just not being brave, not doing the job right until the end.
“We got a goal back, that’s not allowed. It always feels like one goal and you always gain a bit of confidence when you score. We did that, but it was too late. It’s not good enough.”
Asked why the Hammers are struggling so much, Bowen added: “There could be a number of reasons for that, but when you are bottom of the league and have won one game all season, the dressing room is low.
“I’ve been coming out and doing interviews for weeks and saying, the only way this is going to change is for the players to step up, roll up their sleeves and be ready to fight.
“We need more hours seven days a week. It’s easy to hide and get scared when things aren’t going well, but that’s easier said than done. My only mindset is that it has to be done.
“And this is what I tell the players: Roll up your sleeves and dig in, because no one is going to give this to us.”
Nuno: We have to change, this is unacceptable
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Nuno Espirito Santo says his West Ham side must change as they failed to handle many situations and made a number of ‘unacceptable’ mistakes during their 2-1 loss to Leeds.
West Ham manager Nuno has expressed his displeasure with the captain. “These kinds of mistakes are unacceptable in the Premier League,” he told Sky Sports after suffering his third defeat in four games in charge of the club.
“We have to be a lot better, we will do that. We feel the players want to, they are willing to do the work, but there are a lot of switch-off moments that punish us.
“We’re doing this. We’re doing it the way we approach meetings. But it’s not happening.
“We have to change. The players know it, we know it, the fans know it. The club knows there is still time. If we don’t change immediately, time could be a bad omen.
“It is our responsibility to get the best from the players. We start tomorrow. After tomorrow we work. Now it is a moment of sadness and frustration.”
“We need the fans, but since I arrived I have felt it is up to us. We have to have players who deserve their support.”
West Ham will collapse unless Nuno finds a miracle
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:
The scoreline would have painted a close game, but it wasn’t. A common problem emerged for West Ham, who again presented themselves with a huge uphill task as they were unable to defend crosses and corners.
It’s not a question of when West Ham will learn. When will West Ham get their chance?
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
After West Ham lost 2-1 to Leeds, former Hammers goalkeeper Rob Green said the defensive performance that led to Joe Rodon’s goal was ‘miserable’ and a gift to the hosts.
When will Nuno Espirito Santo get his chance after two poor lineups against Leeds and Brentford saw him experiment with inverted full-backs and no centre-forwards?
After a disastrous first 15 minutes where they were 2-0 down, we were lucky that this was a Leeds team who made quite a few mistakes as things could have been worse before half-time.
West Ham did not deserve to return to this game. Leeds covered almost 7km ahead of them and created a series of chances that went straight to the heart of the team.
Considering West Ham have been in this division for over 10 years, this is unacceptable.
There are holes in defense, holes in midfield and, with Nuno reluctantly using Callum Wilson as his only recognized striker, holes in attack.
If the Hammers play like this against their relegation rivals, what will they look like against better teams?
Unless Nuno changes, West Ham will go downhill with his side. At this point we need a miracle.
