Former West Ham United defender Matthew Upson has stated that his old employers are struggling for form due to the absence of Andy Carroll.
The Hammers fans have had to endure an underwhelming start to the new season, with defeats to West Brom and Watford in recent weeks particularly disappointing.
Slaven Bilic’s men find themselves with only three points from their first five Premier League games and as such need to go back to the drawing board ahead of this weekend’s clash with Southampton.
Carroll has been out of action due to injury, meaning that new signing Simone Zaza has been thrust straight into the starting XI – and the Italian has struggled to get to grips with the pace of the Premier League.
Upson has stated that West Ham’s injuries have played a major role in the Hammers’ slow start, with Carroll’s unavailability a specific blow for the ambitious London Stadium outfit.
“He’s lost Andy Carroll, who’s a person that can be difficult to fit into the team if you don’t play to his strengths,” he said on Match of the Day 2.
“Defensively, he’s lost Cresswell, Ayew was a top signing but is out for four months. There have been a lot of unsettling things happen, and they just look unsettled. I look at the left back who played, and it was a bit of a disastrous performance overall.”
