West Ham must act to rectify poor start: Hart

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

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

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,” Hart said on the club’s website. ( www.whufc. com)

“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, in the final year of his 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 would hold talks with the owners in a bid to turn around its fortunes.

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.” – Reuters