The former Hammers star believes the players, not Slaven Bilic, are the club’s problem.
Former West Ham United star Frank Lampard said on the BBC after Friday night’s thrashing at the hands of Manchester City that the players are shirking their responsibilities to the club, the fans, and Slaven Bilic, as quoted by the Mirror.
The Hammers hit another low point in their poor season so far on Friday as they were humiliated 5-0 by an on-song Manchester City side in the third round of the FA Cup in front of their own fans at the London Stadium.
Bilic’s side were 3-0 down at half-time and conceded a fourth soon after, prompting large sections of the home support to pack up and leave with the vast majority of the second half still to play. They ultimately shipped a late fifth.
Much as been made of the Irons’ struggles and whether Bilic should be finding himself under pressure from the club’s owners as a result of their torrid campaign.
However, Lampard does not think the Croatian boss should be blamed as he says the players are hanging their manager out to dry by shirking their responsibilities.
The 38-year-old, who played 187 games for the club between 1996 and 2001, said, as reported by the Mirror: “It doesn’t look to me like the problem is him [Bilic]. I think the problem is on the pitch, I think the problem is the players.
“It does look like they are shirking, but I think there is a real lack of confidence at the bottom of it.”
Lampard also went on to suggest that star man Dimitri Payet, who featured only as a second-half substitute after being rested by Bilic, seems to have no interest in wearing the claret-and-blue shirt any longer.
The midfielder added: “You look at their best player [Payet] who came on at the end there, the signs are that he might want to go and then you really worry about where they go from there.”
The Hammers’ thrashing was their third defeat in a row without scoring, and means they have now conceded 49 goals in their 28 matches in all competitions this season.
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