Ashton labels West Ham as ‘uncomfortable viewing’ despite winning again
West Ham cult-hero Dean Ashton couldn’t bear watching his beloved Hammers in the closing stages against Leicester City.
For the third successive Premier League game, David Moyes’ side raced ahead into a three-goal lead. A Jesse Lingard brace and a second-half strike from Jarrod Bowen were enough to win all three points in the end, but not without a late Leicester attempted revival.
Speaking on the talkSPORT Gameday Podcast, Ashton claimed he didn’t enjoy the ending to the match but went on to praise the boss and his players for their efforts this season.
“That was uncomfortable,” said Ashton. “It was uncomfortable viewing I have to say, because of once again how brilliant they looked to get the three goals and then the sudden turnaround.
“That’s been the big issue and the thing that supporters haven’t enjoyed. Whereas at least with this team you know it’s going to be entertaining, you know you’re going to get goals. But they haven’t quite got the quality against the top teams to keep a clean sheet.
“If you really look at what he’s done there, David Moyes, it’s going to be an incredible achievement if they finish in the top four, incredible.”
Onslaught
In fairness to Deano, he isn’t wrong. The closing phases of that game were nail-biting to say the least, but more importantly, we picked up another win.
Seven goals conceded in our last three games isn’t exactly great to hear, but we’re outscoring our opponents and this is most important. So long as we’re doing well at the other end of the pitch we can afford a few mistakes. We’re far from perfect defensively.
Had you said in August last year we’d be putting three past Leicester without Angelo Ogbonna, Declan Rice and Michail Antonio you’d have been laughed out of the building. The improvements keep on coming this season, we’re showing we can adapt without key men.
Leicester were throwing everything at us towards the end. Even Kasper Schmeichel came up for the last corner of the game as they desperately tried to salvage a point. For the second time this week, we showed excellent character to hold out.
As uncomfortable as it may have been, you can’t deny how exciting our matches are at the moment. Our array of attacking talent is so unpredictable and lively. It’s the best football we’ve seen West Ham play for years, long may it continue.
In other West Ham news, Jesse Lingard is attracting interest from the elites of European football.