Matthew Etherington hits out at West Ham fans for making James Collins a scapegoat with Twitter rant

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West Ham United were dragged back into the thick of the relegation battle after a 4-1 battering at Liverpool on Saturday.

West Ham had turned a corner under David Moyes and reached the 30 point mark with a 2-0 win over Watford two weeks ago.

But the heavy defeat at Anfield makes things hairy again for the Hammers in the increasingly congested Premier League dogfight.

The East Londoners are now just three points off the relegation zone and their goal difference – which could end up being crucial this season – took a hit too.

Fans are understandably unhappy with everything from the owners down to the team as the club continues to regress rather than progress since their much heralded move to the former Olympic Stadium.

But former winger and Hammer of the Year Matthew Etherington has hit out at some supporters for choosing the wrong person as their scapegoat.

Some supporters have highlighted the poor performance of veteran 34-year-old defender and fans’ favourite James Collins as a factor in the defeat to Jurgen Klopp’s men.

And that did not go down well with Etherington, who took to Twitter to defend his former teammate and close friend.

“Getting sick of this, always the scapegoat and rarely let’s the club down, he’s put in some monumental performances over the last 12 months (Swansea 8/4/17) but people have short memories,” Etherington said on Twitter.

“I never heard (Angelo) Ogbonna getting this stick at the start of the season when he was struggling.”

And when it was put to Etherington that the club should be giving game time to emerging young defenders rather than ageing ones like Collins, his response was equally emphatic.

“Which young centre backs? We have (Declan) Rice who is already in the squad and featuring. (Reece) Burke and (Reece) Oxford as we have seen or heard in recent weeks aren’t ready and probably will never be.

“All for giving young players a chance, if good enough. Premier League is ruthless. Ginge has done it for years and no doubt he could do it for one more at least if called upon.”