West Ham defender Pablo Zabaleta has blasted the attitude and approach of his teammates as he lifts the lid on the toxic atmosphere which he attributes to their poor run of form.
There has been much speculation over a number of the Hammers’ stars this month with the future of Marko Arnautovic one of the leading stories and it has coincided with a number of disappointing performances and results, the latest the 3-0 defeat to Wolves on Tuesday.
Speaking about how things are behind the scenes, Zabaleta was highly critical of how his teammates have dealt with things and questioned their desire when coming up against smaller sides.
He told the Sun: “Arnie was out of the squad for two games, he’s been the main player for us. That’s not what you need as a team. I’m not saying it’s all about Arnautovic, it’s not only his situation. There have been many players, names around the media.
“I think so many situations off the field have been creating a little bit of a bad atmosphere. In December, when we had a good run of matches, it was like you could see West Ham playing as a team. Everyone working so hard for each other.
“We need commitment again from everyone. When you play against the big teams, it seems like everyone’s on it. You can’t go from beating Arsenal to losing three games against two middle table teams and a smaller team in the FA Cup. We need to think about the situation, the only way to improve is by working hard every day.”
Opinion
Honest words from a man who has been there and done it in the Premier League, with years upon years of experience from his time at Manchester City. He will know all about how different personalities deal with speculation over their future and it seems as though the rumours surrounding the London Stadium this month have had plenty of heads turned, taking their focus away from what really matters on the football pitch. That is absolutely the worst case scenario for the club and they will be delighted when February comes around and they can focus on getting their season back on track. Zabaleta is right to call his teammates out on the issue and hopefully it can be the kick up the backside that is needed. He is one of the most experienced players in the squad and everyone should be listening to what he has to say. If they are ignoring him, maybe they are not cut out to play for the Hammers in the first place.