Lukasz: Shaky Hammers need a grind of magic

SO WHICH West Ham is going to turn up next time?

Will it be the West Ham that battled so well to take a point off title-challenging Liverpool last week and at Selhurst Park played well and then hung on grimly for a point, largely thanks to the brilliance of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski?

Or will it be the West Ham that embarrassingly crashed out of the FA Cup at bottom of League One AFC Wimbledon, the one that conceded five goals in two hapless performances at Bournemouth and Wolves?

For around 50 minutes at Selhurst Park, Manuel Pellegrini’s side controlled the match, moving the ball smoothly and creating chances.

But Palace fought back hard, deservedly levelled the scores – and in the end could and probably should have won, as Wilfried Zaha refused to let his team lose.

Pretty

Fabianski said the Hammers squad had sat down last week to discuss their inconsistency. The Pole said: “One conclusion we have made from the performances that were not good is the mental side of things.

“We realised what we have to do out there to get a result, how we have to grind out a performance sometimes even if it is not playing pretty football.

“You know that with hard work and tactical awareness you are able to get points.

“If we are on it from the very first minute of a game, then we are able to compete against almost anyone in this league, and be solid and compact as a team.

“We know that if we have the mental side right, and we start compact as a team, and we work hard for the team, we are always able to get something from the game.”

The Hammers were clearly the better side in the first 45 minutes, as Ryan Fredericks and Robert Snodgrass forced Vicente Guaita into saves.

But there were always warning signs with Fabianski having to pull off a