West Ham fans should be livid if what Andy Hinchcliffe's said on players vs Millwall is true

West Ham United escaped from their trip to Millwall with a point thanks to a second-half recovery.

Nuno Espirito Santo's men produced arguably their worst first-half showing of the season as they found themselves two down at The Den.

Caleb Taylor and Camiel Neghli put Millwall in control before the break - and in truth it was deserved.

But things could only get better for the Irons in the second half and so that proved.

Mohamadou Kante got Nuno's men back into it and then Konstantinos Mavropanos levelled to spark wild scenes in the away end.

But fans will not easily forget just how poorly their side started such a massive game.

What was behind West Ham's dreadful start vs Millwall?

West Ham just could not get going in the first half, and it is surprising Nuno did not make his changes earlier than he did.

Worryingly, Andy Hinchcliffe - speaking on Sky Sports' live coverage of the match - suggested West Ham "were not prepared for the game".

He implied the atmosphere and magnitude of the derby may have got to the players.

In fairness, what we saw play out in the first 45 minutes only backs that up.

And yet the players have been told over and over just how big this match is - there is no bigger fixture in terms of hatred.

West Ham fans in attendance, and indeed those watching from elsewhere, have every right to be livid with the way their team crumbled in the first half.

At the same time, massive credit is then due for what happened in the next 45 minutes.

What did Nuno Espirito Santo say about Millwall draw?

Nuno would have been equally as livid at what he saw for the first half of the game.

However, the introductions of Pablo and Kante at the break - the latter of whom was later sent off - helped change things.

Speaking to West Ham's official website after the game, Nuno said: "We didn’t do things well, and we didn’t deal with Millwall’s physicality.

"They have strong players, and we got punished from two throw-ins.

"We had a reaction from the boys, but at the same time there are things we have to look at."

In a way, the dreadfulness of the first-half performance and the fact the Irons escaped with a point almost makes it feel like a win.

The scenes in the away end when Mavropanos equalised certainly suggested as much.

But that first-half showing cannot be repeated again in a fixture of this magnitude.

Hopefully it is a lesson learned without any real damage being done.