Pundits Danny Murphy and Ian Wright have lambasted the ‘lazy’ attitude of some West Ham United players and say Slaven Bilic must act.
The Hammers were thrashed 4-0 on the opening day away to Manchester United.
They followed that up with a 3-2 defeat to Southampton which was harsh but very much of their own making after giving away two penalties and having Marko Arnautovic sent off for an elbow.
Seven goals conceded in just two games does not make great reading and Bilic already finds himself under pressure, as reported by The Mirror.
Supporters are concerned given they face another away match – their fourth on the trot as a result of the athletics World Championships having been held at the London Stadium – when they travel to newly-promoted Newcastle on Saturday.
Now pundits and former Premier League stars Danny Murphy and Ian Wright have criticised the Hammers and called on Bilic to act fast when they appeared as guests on Sky Sports’ The Debate.
“What I mean by a lack of discipline is not just getting players sent off, (Mark) Noble could have been sent off with that tackle (against Southampton) and Arnautovic let himself down,” former Liverpool star Murphy told The Debate.
“But I’m talking about silly things like (Jose) Fonte giving a penalty away grabbing someone around the neck in the box, five yards from the referee, you’ve got (Pablo) Zabaleta – the most experienced player on the pitch – going into someone’s back, lazy last minute after working so hard (to get back into the game with 10 men).
“It’s a difficult one, does Bilic treat them like men and give them respect and expect them to do the right thing or does he actually have to come down on them now and say ‘I can’t have that again’ because they should not have lost that game and now they’re in trouble.
“I’ve played for managers who wouldn’t have it, you won’t play (if you make those kind of mistakes).”
Arsenal legend Wright, who played for West Ham after leaving the Gunners in the twilight of his career, agreed with Murphy and called on his old friend Bilic to act.
“You’ve got to do something about that,” Wright added.
“They’ve had 14 red cards since Slaven has taken over, that’s a lot so he’s got to look at that for a start.
“Fonte, what was that, what’s he doing?”
Bilic showed his frustration by repeatedly banging the desk when discussing Arnautovic’s red card in his press conference this week.
But the actions of Fonte and Zabaleta were just as destructive to West Ham’s efforts at St Mary’s.
The Croatian must now hope to get a first win under the belt against Cheltenham before Saturday’s crunch clash against the Magpies.
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