Jermain Defoe lambasts ‘lethargic’ West Ham after defeat v Brighton
Jermain Defoe has lambasted West Ham United players for their poor performance in the match against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Hammers suffered a thumping 2-0 defeat while playing at the London Stadium on Sunday which was their third consecutive loss of this season.
Defoe, while speaking on Match of the Day 2 on Sunday, stated that the Hammers’ performance was lethargic in the contest.
“For West Ham, obviously I understand they played on Thursday night, but [it was] a real lethargic performance to be honest,” he said.
“You see in this clip here, Brighton are in a good shape. West Ham have got the ball here, for me he (Vladimir Coufal) is still too slow.
“You have two against one on the right side of the pitch, the full-back (Coufal) has to drop back earlier. You see here the ball comes out to (Kurt) Zouma, can he play to the full-back quicker? Backs out, goes back to the goalkeeper, far too slow, especially being at home.
“The second clip here, you see (Said) Benrahma has got the ball here, three against one, there is nothing on, he ends up crossing into the box, (Michail) Antonio can’t get into the box and the West Ham players are actually in their own half. It’s a real negative, no energy, lethargic performance by West Ham.
“I was really disappointed in that performance today.”
Brutally honest
West Ham entered the current campaign with a lot of optimism after ending the previous season on a high where they finished on the seventh position.
However, just after three matches of this campaign, they are already looking at an uphill task where they have no points and are currently placed at the bottom of the league table.
These results have also put manager David Moyes’ future in doubt at the club which is never a good sign for the players as well as the fans.
Therefore, it will be interesting to see how he will inspire the players to make a comeback in the next matches to come.
Next up is Aston Villa and it will be a perfect opportunity for the Hammers as they will be going up against a team who have also been struggling in the early part of the season and the fans will be hoping that a positive result there will kickstart their campaign.