Hammers must act to rectify poor start, says Hart

LONDON: West Ham must identify their mistakes and act to rectify them to get positive results, goalkeeper Joe Hart has said after the team started their English Premier League campaign with three consecutive losses.

West Ham started their league campaign with away defeats at Manchester United, Southampton and Newcastle with the only good result being a League Cup win over third-tier Cheltenham.

England international Hart says the London side cannot blame others for their results and has urged his team to solve their problems together and return strongly after the international break.

“It’s been a frustrating start to the season and we’ve only really got ourselves to blame, so we’ll have to get together as a team, as a unit, and put this right because it’s not good enough,” said Hart.

“We’re going to put our finger on it but it’s that important and that serious, that I think we should put our finger on it as a group and as a team. It’s not about talking now but about actions.”

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic, who is in the final year of his threeyear contract, is under pressure to improve results as fans and club officials fear the team will be as inconsistent as last season, during which they managed just 12 league wins.

The Croatian admitted the club were in ”serious trouble” after Saturday’s defeat at Newcastle and British media reported that Bilic held talks with the owners in a bid to turn the team’s fortunes around.

Hart, who has won two league titles with Manchester City, says West Ham must not panic.

“I’ve been in situations like this before ... and you need to stay level-headed, organised and you need to keep the belief in each other, have it out in any which way you need to have it out, and all pull in the same direction,” Hart said.

West Ham host Huddersfield in their first home league game of the season on Sept 11.

It’s not about talking now but about actions.

Joe Hart