West Ham have struggled to settle at the London Stadium this season.
Speaking to the London Evening Standard, former West Ham United midfielder Don Hutchison has told the club’s fans they must forget about Upton Park.
The Hammers moved to the London Stadium this season, bringing about an end to a lifelong association with the Boleyn Ground.
It has not been a happy start for them at their new home, though, with problems both on and off the pitch.
On the pitch, the team has struggled, with some suggesting that the team’s failure to adapt to the new stadium has been a major contributing factor.
However, Hutchinson is not one of them, insisting he does not buy into that theory.
“I don’t buy into the theory that the new stadium has had a negative effect on the players – they need to roll up their sleeves and get on with it,” he told the London Evening Standard.
“Overall, though, West Ham fans need to let Upton Park go. I’m getting a bit bored of this mentality that the ground is to blame for the drop in standards this season.”
The London Stadium does certainly appear to be something of an factor for West Ham so far this season, but while they may be struggling to adapt to their new home, that is no excuse for the poor performances.
Defensively they have been awful, with the stats showing they are conceding the third highest chances in the box per game to opponents so far.
The stadium is not the cause of that kind of slack thinking and perhaps the current squad would be best focusing on their real problems than blaming their new home.
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