Tony Cottee has told West Ham they really cannot use the absence of Dimi Payet as the reason for a dip in form.
The former striker – talking about the defeat at Spurs – said: “We were without Dimitri Payet of course and though he is our best player, we can’t keep using his absence as an excuse.
Going on about him being injured may well be justified for a couple of weeks, but we have to get over it and set up another team who can be successful and pick up the points we need to cling on to the top six going into Christmas.
He told London24.com: We get a chance to make up for the Tottenham loss this Sunday when we take on West Brom, but it is certainly not going to be easy. I think all the teams in the Premier League this season have strengthened, including West Brom, who had a great result against Arsenal last weekend.
You can’t go around saying that ‘it is West Brom this weekend, we will win that’, it doesn’t work that way. You have to work hard for any win in this league. We need to bounce back and I am going for a 2-0 win. I will be there myself on Sunday so I would like to see a better display and a nice win.