West Ham United’s home results have been pretty mixed since their move to the London Stadium.
West Ham United defender Angelo Ogbonna admits that it has not been easy adapting to life at the London Stadium for the Hammers following their move from the Boleyn Ground, he told the club’s official website.
A lot was made of the club’s move to the stadium used for the 2012 Olympics, with Ogbonna suggesting there has been a bit more pressure to perform in front of more people, while expectations have risen a little.
He told the official club website: “This is our home and it has not been easy playing in the new Stadium with all the expectations.
“Maybe that pressure was not good for us, but we had to change things and hopefully this is the beginning. This is a new experience and now we know what is important for us and the fans.”
Ogbonna was speaking after West Ham had only narrowly overcome League Two opposition in Accrington Stanley in the EFL Cup third round thanks to a Dimitri Payet free-kick in stoppage time, which set up another home tie in the competition – this time against Chelsea.
It has been a mixed bag in terms of results for West Ham at their new home. They saw a win in a Europa League qualifier against Domzale before a late victory in their first home league game of the season against Bournemouth.
Since then they were dumped out of Europe by Astana in a 1-0 home defeat, and surrendered a two-goal lead to Watford. They have back-to-back home games in the league against Southampton and Middlesbrough coming up.
Playing in a new stadium for the first time can have one or two issues when it comes to adapting to new surroundings. But there is also some pressure on the Hammers following a strong showing in the Premier League last season, where they finished in seventh place. Inevitably there is going to be an increase in expectations.
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