West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has taken responsibility for the club’s poor start to the new campaign but has urged his players to forget the heroics of last season if they are to improve.
The Hammers have high hopes for 2016-17 after an expansive summer in the transfer market and the move to the London Stadium.
However, things have certainly not gone to plan as yet, with Europa League elimination being compounded by the loss of four of their first five Premier League fixtures.
An abject display against West Brom on Saturday saw the Irons beaten 4-2 by a basic Tony Pulis side, with some calamitous defending from the visitors having the travelling support in despair.
Bilic has stated that just because the club were fighting for a top-six berth last season does not mean they have the right this term and that the players need to focus on the task at hand to arrest the current slide.
“It is my responsibility to act and try to solve that problem. I don’t want to be the one who hides behind unluckiness or mistakes,” The Express quote the Croatian as saying.
“If we think for a second that we are going to do good because of last season, then forget it. The expectations, the ground and everything else won’t earn us a single throw-in, not to mention a goal or a point.
“We are not doing the basic things that were the cornerstone of everything we did last year. We defended as a unit – like brothers – to be solid and very tough and then we tried to do it with players who have skill and quality.
“We’ve conceded 13 goals since the start of the season which is not just down to individual mistakes, it is also a lack of awareness as a team. If we continue to defend like that, it will be hard for us to win any games.”
