By Simon Leyland
I am trying to dig out some positives about last night…….I suppose we are fortunate in the sense that we have only dropped one place in the league and even though our goal difference took a bit of a battering, it is still better than most of our rivals in the relegation battle.
Losing at home to a Newcastle side who in all likelihood will be in the Champions League next season, is no crime or shock.
But it was the manner of the score line and how Newcastle made the most of the Iron’s shambolic defending which has the potential to cause a lot more damage than the Premier League table suggests.
But it comes down to this. If a team is set up purely not to make mistakes rather than take the initiative and be creative we have only ourselves to blame.
The problem is when you try to be risk free, you actually commit mistakes by being too rigid and unimaginative and like last night’s horror show you allow your opponents to dictate the pace.
A point or three would have surely helped the Hammers, who now face a trip to Craven Cottage and host league leaders Arsenal in their next two games, knowing they will probably need to take one, or multiple points, from those games before their next relegation six-pointer away at Bournemouth on April 23.
Strap yourself in, this going to be a bumpy ride !