Niclas Fullkrug spot on in ‘angry’ expletive-laden rant at West Ham teammates
West Ham United supporters cannot wait for this sorry campaign to end after the latest abject moment at the London Stadium.
The Hammers were unable to overcome relegated Southampton in Saturday’s Premier League clash (19 April), after Jarrod Bowen’s opener was cancelled out by Lesley Ugochukwu in stoppage time.
Irons fans were understandably a mixture of seething and apathetic towards the 1-1 draw, as doubts were raised over not only the team, but Graham Potter as well.
Niclas Fullkrug lays into teammates in jaw-dropping interview
Fullkrug was one of only a small handful of West Ham players to be able to emerge from Saturday’s drab draw with his head held high.
The German striker has been robbed of the majority of his debut Premier League campaign through injury, but has impressed as a focal point and source of goals when he has managed to get out there.
And any questions about his confidence can be shattered by the brazenness to call out his teammates in a scathing post-match interview with Sky Sports (19 April).
Nobody can argue with it. It’s admirable in the face of adversity, expletives included. West Ham fans, like any other, are sick to the back teeth of timid post-match comments skirting around blatant issues.
Fullkrug has shown he maintains standards, and any negative reaction from his Hammers teammates will show who will not cut it at the London Stadium in the Premier League on a long-term basis.
“It’s a mindset problem. I’m not disappointed, just angry. Very angry,” the 32-year-old lamented.
“We didn’t have the ability or motivation to push up, and I’m very angry we played like this.
“There were 25-30 minutes in the second half when we showed we can have very good possession, and we can get in behind and get chances to score. But the motivation was [expletive] after.”
West Ham have five chances to give fans some sort of optimism
Potter knows that if this season ebbs to the end, as it appears to be, he will be starting next season at a disadvantage and with a ten-ton medallion around his neck.
The West Ham boss has inspired a sporadic selection of improved performances – last weekend’s unlucky defeat at Liverpool among them (13 April) – but the inconsistency and the lack of drive is just painful to watch.
With respect to Southampton, who dug in and got their reward, West Ham should be tearing them apart. They’re already down; they have no manager; their squad is clearly Championship standard.
| West Ham – final five | Date |
| Brighton (A) | 26 April |
| Tottenham (H) | 4 May |
| Manchester United (A) | 11 May |
| Nottingham Forest (H) | 18 May |
| Ipswich (A) | 25 May |
Fullkrug’s comments should serve to inspire. These experienced heads need to be the beacons of motivation and experience in the dressing room and a force for good to work in Potter’s favour.
But there is a heck of a lot of work to be done. This won’t be tolerated next season.