Sam Allardyce said he was “shocked” as West Ham failed to get the basics right in their 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace.
The Hammers have managed only one win in their last ten games following the defeat to Palace and the Upton Park faithful showed their disdain by booing the home team off the field at the end.
Allardyce acknowledged that standards have slipped in recent weeks.
“I’m shocked. Our level of performance wasn’t where I expected it to be. It’s disappointing when we’ve built expectation levels so high at home,” said Allardyce.
Crystal Palace brought a physical approach to the game and punished West Ham at set pieces – something Allardyce says his players had been warned about.
“We warned the lads about Crystal Palace’s set plays because 50% of their goals have come from set-plays. And we’ve conceded from two corners and a free-kick,” said the Hammers boss.
There is unlikely to be any respite for Allardyce and West Ham with further London derbies against Chelsea and Arsenal next up.
West Ham are 4.36 to defeat the league leaders Chelsea (1.66) on Wednesday night, with the draw 3.73.
Allardyce warned his players that they must get the basics right if they are going to get back to the winning form they had shown early in the season.
“It’s about the basics, really. If we don’t play to our best, we’ll struggle,” he added.
Saturday’s defeat meant West Ham dropped into 9th place, level on points with Stoke City.
Leave a comment
Link Dafabet