Chris Sutton slams abject West Ham, suggests Bilic cannot afford to lose any of next three games

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The Hammers were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Southampton on Sunday.

BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Chris Sutton said on the station on Sunday that West Ham United fans had every right to leave early during an “abject” display against Southampton, and suggested that Slaven Bilic cannot afford to lose any of the next three games.

The Hammers meekly went down 3-0 to the Saints in front of their own fans at the London Stadium to continue their terrible start to the season.

Bilic’s side have now lost five of their opening six fixtures in a top-flight league campaign for the first time in their history, and have now conceded 11 times in their last three games.

In a performance during which they had just a single shot on target against a Southampton side who had won just once in five before this weekend, Irons fans headed for the exits in their masses before full-time, with many having left even before James Ward-Prowse scored the visitors’ third in injury-time.

It was a dreadful display which typified the problems the London club have been suffering in the early weeks of the campaign, and Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live that after such an “abject” showing Bilic now must ensure West Ham avoid defeat in each of their next three fixtures.

Sutton said: “It’s dark days for them and I can’t remember such an abject display. It’s been quite frankly embarrassing from West Ham. It’s not a crisis, but Slaven Bilic has some major surgery to do.”

“They had a big chance to put it right but they are in disarray. Can you blame the fans who left early? They had seen enough.

“It’s a massive job for Bilic now. He did enough last season to warrant patience at this stage. But their next three games – Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace and Sunderland – he cannot afford to lose.”

Though Palace are flying high in seventh, newly-promoted Boro sit in 15th and Sunderland are bottom of the table with a single point, and all three games have the potential to yield three points for West Ham.

Sutton is right – these are dark days indeed, and something needs to change quickly to prevent the club’s historic first season at the London Stadium sliding towards disaster.