Declan Rice: West Ham United players keeping positive mentality despite slump in form
West Ham United captain Declan Rice admits there is “no beating around the bush” after their fifth consecutive Premier League loss but insisted the team would maintain a positive mentality, to the club’s website.
The Hammers fell to their 11th loss in 17 league games against Brentford on Friday night (30 December), as David Moyes’ side conceded a pair of comical first-half goals in their 2-0 loss at the London Stadium.
The pressure on Moyes has seemingly now reached boiling point, and the club could reportedly be ready to cut ties with the Scot before their January 7 FA Cup fixture against the Bees.
“There’s no beating around the bush,” Rice told the club website following the defeat.
“We signed players in the summer and it’s up to us to be out there, pushing, driving, giving everything for the badge and giving everything for the fans.
“We’re down there and that’s the reality but we don’t want to think like that because we want to have a positive mentality. We still think we can play and get a result in this league so there’s not going to be any negativity from me.
“I don’t like where we are, I don’t like the way we’ve played recently – it’s unlike us to lose five Premier League games but football is a learning experience and it’s about how we move on.”
A new low
Despite Rice admitting the players are keeping a positive mindset, the writing is now surely on the wall for Moyes as manager at West Ham United.
A fifth straight loss, sitting just a point outside the relegation zone before the afternoon Premier League fixture (Saturday 31 December) and having scored just 13 goals this season, proceedings have reached a new low in recent weeks.
The defending by the Hammers’ newly trialled back-five was slapstick at times, with a long throw the architect of Brentford’s opening goal and some dreadful play from Aaron Cresswell gifting Josh Dasilva the second of the game.
Fans and pundits keep mentioning that this side have too much quality to fall foul of relegation, but the longer this win drought continues, the more the pressure will rise on Moyes.
Some big decisions need to be made in January, personnel on the pitch, and maybe even their manager off it.