SLAVEN BILIC DESCRIBED West Ham’s 5-1 defeat at home to Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday as a “big humiliation” and slammed his team’s lack of dedication.
West Ham lost James Collins to injury after just seven minutes and had their winless run in all competitions extended to six matches following a 14-minute hat-trick from Alexis Sanchez.
The Hammers now sit just three points clear of bottom side Swansea City and the Croatian manager was hugely disappointed by his side’s capitulation at London Stadium.
“I am not looking for excuses. Yes we had injuries and mistakes, but we were not good enough,” Bilic told BT Sport.
“I feel disappointed. I feel humiliated and it’s my responsibility.
“I feel under pressure, I put the pressure on myself. I am not happy with the display. I don’t want to feel like this, so, of course, I am feeling pressure. But the pressure is not a problem. Things have to change. Quality is not enough.
It was a big humiliation. I feel sorry for the fans and the club. We played some good games in this season and had some good moments today even at 0-0 and 1-0 down.
“But I have to be honest and say we don’t have the intensity and from the dedication comes the quality. We don’t have it the same as last season, even in training.
“We have it occasionally in games and that’s why we are so up and down. We are in a serious situation before this game which we don’t like. The players know that, but it’s not only about knowing, but sacrificing and dedication for the game.
James Collins has for the whole season had a little bit of a tight calf, but he was ready to play. He did not feel it before the game, but just early on in the match. It’s bad luck, but that’s not the reason we lost.”
One positive for West Ham was the goalscoring return of Andy Carroll from a knee injury that has kept him out since August, the striker heading home after Dimitri Payet’s free-kick struck the crossbar in a frantic six-minute period that saw four goals as the game reached a thrilling finale.
Carroll felt the hosts were punished for pushing too hard for a goal, though he remains confident they can turn things around.
“It was awful by the end. At half-time, going in 1-0, we were lucky. I thought at that time we could have got something out of the game, but as soon as it went 2-0 our heads dropped,” he said.
It was disappointing early on to lose James Collins – it was hard for the team and we had to alter our formation. We held on until half-time, but then let things slip. We pushed on to try and score some goals, but left gaps at the back.
“We have been going through a tough spell, but I think we can get out of it.”
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