- West Ham fell to a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon
- Nuno Espirito Santo’s team missed an opportunity to get out of the bottom three
- Konstantinos Mavropanos stated there is positives the side can take
West Ham United had a torrid day at Villa Park as they lost 2-0 to Aston Villa. The loss see’s the Hammers miss an opportunity to lift themselves out of the bottom three on the day.
Not much went well for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team in on Sunday afternoon as they looked as bad as they did prior to their up turn in form. Even Mads Hermansen, who has been excellent since returning to the XI, made a mistake for the second goal.
Despite what looked to be a bleak day, defender Konstantinos Mavropanos told the club’s official website that there are positives to take from the game.
“I think the second half was much better,” said Mavropanos. “In the first half we were not in control defensively. They created a lot of spaces in between, and they tried to play deep, so it was a little bit difficult for us to manage it.
“But as I said in the second half, we were better managing the game, and unfortunately we conceded the second goal, and we couldn’t score on the other side.
“We were more compact, and we controlled better the situations, like running at the back of spaces in between.”
West Ham‘s game plan would change minutes before kick-off, with Jean-Clair Todibo going down injured in the warm ups. Despite this Mavropanos is not having it as an excuse for the loss.
“It was a big moment for JC (Jean-Clair Todibo), but at the same time, we have been working with four at the back in the last couple of weeks as well,” added the 28-year-old.
“It was a little bit frustrating because we were planning the game with three [central defenders], but on the other side, I think we have played really good teams before with four at the back.”
All focus on West Ham, not other results
At the same time as West Ham were taking on Aston Villa, then 17th placed Nottingham Forest were facing 16th placed Tottenham Hotspur. This meant a win would have taken the Hammers out of the relegation zone, regardless of the result in that game.
Forest would go on to win 3-0, but Mavropanos state’s the team do not look at other team’s performances, saying the focus is always on themselves.
“We don’t really look at the others because it’s up to us. We closed the gap in this last couple of games, so it’s up to us what we do on the pitch, and after that, we will see where we are going to be at the end.
“Of course, there are many games to play, and we showed character in the last couple of games. We just have to go on, keep positive faith, and we will do it.”
