Declan Rice has issued a rallying call days before West Ham United host Sheffield United at the London Stadium in hope of returning to winning ways.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side currently find themselves on a four-match winless run and will be eager to stop the rut on home soil against a newly-promoted team, albeit a dangerous one.
Ahead of the weekend, Rice told the official club website that the player’s are expecting an improved performance:
We know we need to perform better than we did at the weekend. You have to be honest and it was shocking, we let the fans down, we let ourselves down. We need to stay positive and we need everyone behind us on Saturday to be that twelfth man and push us on.
Plenty of fans have reacted badly to his comments though, venting their frustration on social media…
Twitter: @WestHam Begs the question then, just what was Noble and the manager doing and saying on Saturday? (@DapperDan)
Twitter: @WestHam This shall bang when Sheffield tear us a new one. (@WestHamCF)
Twitter: @WestHam No team should need firing up (@Irons_42)
Twitter: @WestHam Nobody should have to get you fired up. You have players on tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands a w… https://t.co/ovRgiOwCHL (@TomMB1994)
Twitter: @WestHam It’s ok to recognise this, the issue is that we perform like this several times a season! It’s unacceptabl… https://t.co/mR5iVfZyEs (@airbag93986541)
READ WEST HAM’S VERDICT
The backlash Rice is on the receiving end of is rather harsh, and he should be getting respect as a 20-year-old for standing up and taking responsibility for the rest of the squad.
He’ll be as eager as anyone to return to winning ways on Saturday and you’d have to back West Ham to do so.
It’s obviously frustrating when different members of the squad come out and say the same thing following a disappointing result, but it’s better than saying nothing, surely?
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