We’re in 15th but let’s not be too hard on ourselves

By Allen Cummings

I hate the international break!

Two weeks without my regular ‘fix’ of West Ham United is tough to take. But it does give us the time and opportunity to reflect on the season so far – where we are – how we’ve been – where we want to be.

I think it’s fair to say after the summer hype we’d all hoped to be sitting further up the Premier League table than the 15^th place we currently occupy.

With two wins, one draw and five defeats we are where we are for a reason but but do the results tell the whole story?

A closer look at the table could suggest that maybe we’ve been slightly harder on ourselves than we ought to have been.

Of our eight games played so far, six have been against teams currently occupying the top eight places in the Premier League. A tough start in anyone’s language. Those teams haven’t got where they are simply by defeating us.

Liverpool currently sit in third place, but are join top of the league on 20 points, along with Manchester City and Chelsea (who we held to a draw).  Arsenal are once again top dogs in north London, occupying fourth spot on 18 points.

Bournemouth are positively flying in sixth spot on 16 points, a total they only reached last season after playing twice as many games as they have so far. Meanwhile Wolves have been receiving plaudits from all directions for their performances so far.

Losing just once and currently sitting in a very healthy seventh spot, it’s obvious we’ve had to face opposition in a rich vein of form.

A defeat is a defeat in any language but maybe those first four reverses weren’t quite the catastrophe some appeared to suggest – especially as there were so many new faces in our line-ups still trying to find their feet.

Brighton was a big disappointment, particularly as the stats indicated we had more than enough of the play to get at least a point from the game and and probably would have done if it had been against any other side than Brighton, who clearly have some kind of Indian sign over us.

We went into the last international break on the back of a home defeat to Wolves but came back from it with an impressive 3-1 victory over Everton. This time after the disappointment of Brighton we will resume league action with the visit of Tottenham.

A game against the Spuds is always a mouth-watering encounter. What better opposition than them to get our season off and running again and to pick up where we were at the end of the Manchester United game.

Confidence high and a belief that we really are moving in the right direction. The London Stadium will be full. The atmosphere will be electric. I just can’t wait!!