Ex-Hammer insists players rebelled

Ex West Ham defender Jose Fonte insists that the players at the club hated the London Stadium initially.

The Irons, of course, moved into the new ground in 2016, leaving the Boleyn Ground to do so.

Fonte played for the club in both the 2016/17 and the 17/18 season after joining the club from Southampton.

In total, he made 24 appearances for the Hammers across two seasons in which the Hammers failed to set the world alight.

They finished 11th in his first campaign, and 13th in his second, and Fonte maintains that he and his team-mates did not like the move to the London Stadium initially, having left the safety and security of Upton Park.

Speaking to L’Equipe, the Portugal international, who now plays for Lille in France, said: “At the beginning, the players didn’t like it, the fans didn’t like it. When I arrive at West Ham, the club have just left Boleyn and are playing at the Olympic stadium. At first the players didn’t like it, the fans didn’t like it, so when I arrive there’s this feeling that it’s not West Ham’s stadium… But it’s an incredible stadium.”

However, he has kept a close eye on the Hammers from afar and believes that they are now becoming more and more accustomed to playing at the London Stadium.

He added: “Afterwards, I understand why they have this affinity with Boleyn, they knew everything there. But I think they are getting used to it. On the sporting level, I arrive at a difficult time for the club, in a crisis of results.”