- West Ham lost 3-1 to Newcastle United on Sunday evening
- The Hammers can now be relegated on Tuesday night if Tottenham Hotspur win
- Two early goals for the hosts effectively ended the game yesterday
West Ham United lost 3-1 to Newcastle United yesterday to leave them heading for the Premier League exit door. Three points for Tottenham Hotspur against Chelsea on Tuesday would see the Hammers return to the Championship once again.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham once flourished on belief, with a lot believing they could escape the drop, but now the Irons looked deflated and defeated. Two early goals in a performance that only a team out on it’s feet could put on, saw the Hammers condemned to zero points from the 20th minute.
Many, including Nuno, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Jarrod Bowen have apologised for the performance, but it does not change the predicament West Ham are in. Even a point for Spurs would effectively relegate the Hammers, given the significantly inferior goal difference.
Like many of his teammates, Mateus Fernandes knows they let down the fans on Sunday evening.
Mateus Fernandes knows the performance was the players fault
Fernandes, who is tipped to leave West Ham regardless of their division this summer, told Sky Sports he knows his performance, alongside the team as a whole was not good enough.
“The first 20 minutes was so painful for us. We have been training all week to do one thing, yet we arrived here and didn’t do it. This week, we just needed to believe [in ourselves] and do our things. It is our [the players’] responsibility. We need to do much better.
“It needs to be us [the players’ responsibility] always. Since the first day, it is the players who decide the games. Everyone needs to take responsibility for this moment and be a man. This is football.
“We need to be positive because we have one more game. It is one game that can change everything. We could’ve put pressure on Tottenham, but now it’s difficult.
“Of course [I understand the fans’ frustration at full-time]. We didn’t play with full fight and spirit like we did against Arsenal. We missed everything – the fight, the energy, and every time we were late to the second balls.
“It is very hard to think about the future. We have one game that we have to try to win. It is difficult, anything can happen. Hopefully Tottenham lose against Chelsea, and then in the last match we go with everything. We have to believe.”
