David Moyes was critical of two West Ham United players in particular after the Brighton loss but insists he sees the positives.
West Ham slipped to the bottom of the fledgling table as they suffered a third consecutive Premier League defeat in a 2-0 home loss to bogey side Brighton.
The Hammers were poor in a 3-1 win over Viborg in the Europa Conference League in midweek too.
But the loss to the Seagulls saw West Ham hit a new low in terms of performance levels.
West Ham’s form has fallen off a cliff since last November with the exception of some memorable Europa League nights.
The Hammers were booed off at half-time and full-time having been painfully goaded by the visitors with cheers of ‘ole’ as Brighton passed the ball for fun around West Ham’s half-hearted efforts.
There have been legitimate concerns for some time that the team has been somewhat worked out.
There is no sign of the combinations and patterns of play which made the east Londoners such tough opposition in recent seasons.
Moyes has, understandably, asked for patience while West Ham go through a transitional period after a raft of departures and arrivals.
On a frustrating day at the London Stadium, where home wins are becoming increasingly rare again, only Lukasz Fabianski and perhaps Said Benrahma emerged from the game with any credit.
Even so Moyes was critical of two West Ham players after the Brighton loss but sees the positives.
Speaking separately to the club’s official website and in his press conference, the Hammers boss picked out Kurt Zouma and new boy Thilo Kehrer for costing his side.
Both centre backs were at fault for both goals.
David Moyes critical of two West Ham players after Brighton loss but sees the positives
Zouma gave the ball away which led to the Brighton break resulting in the penalty.
Kehrer, who was tidy in possession, went to ground in rash fashion to give away the spot kick on his debut.
And both he and Zouma were nowhere to be seen when the Hammers were laughably exposed for the second goal, during which you could have driven a bus through West Ham’s midfield and defence.
Moyes criticised the attacking output of his team. But he says there is no hiding from the fact that the mistakes of his two centre halves cost the Hammers dear.
“I slept on it overnight (the decision to give Kehrer his full debut), I felt it was better to put a recognised international defender in,” Moyes said in his post match presser (Football.London).
“If he had stayed on his feet, it would have been okay. I thought he actually played quite well, except he made the wrong decision to go to ground for the penalty kick, I thought he should have stayed on his feet. We gave the ball away terribly and they countered and I think if he stayed on his feet, I think he probably would have seen it…
“Kurt plays for us and he has been brilliant for us but he’s just another one who has started slow in pre-season and is maybe not quite where his levels are.”
“Look we did make a mistake, Kurt comes out with the ball and makes a mistake and Thilo then I think should stay on his feet and not go to ground for the penalty,” Moyes added in an interview with whufc.com.
“And that punished us out of nothing… that put the game in a different light.”
Moyes insists, though, that there were positives from the way West Ham played before the penalty.
“There was actually some good things in it for us,” Moyes said.
“I thought we played relatively well in the opening 20 minutes or so, I thought the penalty makes a big dent in the game. I thought we looked as viable as them.”
Things don’t get any easier for West Ham.
After a trip to Denmark in the Conference League on Thursday night, the Hammers travel to an expectant Villa Park in the Premier League next before a home game against in-form rivals Tottenham Hotspur and then a trip to Chelsea.
MORE WEST HAM NEWS
Villa agree £24m deal to sign longstanding West Ham target.
West Ham want midfield monster who shone against them report claims.
Amazing video of Declan Rice is the best thing you’ll see all week.
Moyes warns out of sorts Soucek that he and others will be replaced.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
