Three defeats in a row: time to panic?

It hasn’t been the best few weeks to be a West Ham fan. Since the 2-1 away victory over Fulham, it has been three Premier League defeats in a row and only one goal has been scored along the way. Not long before this, the team suffered a narrow defeat at Championship Watford in the Carling Cup.

Overall, of Gianfrano Zola’s six games in charge, West Ham have lost four of them. So, the biggest question of all – is it time to panic? Well, according to the man himself – not by a long shot. Zola says that he is not worried at all and that his team ‘will get through’ this difficult period.

The former Chelsea man also praised the player’s commitment and attitude saying that although it would be ‘easy for him to have a go’ at them after this run of defeats, he is refusing to do so. I’m not quite sure of my stance on this. It was one of the concerns when Zola took over for me – has he got enough discipline? Is he going to lay down the law when the players aren’t performing? Of course, this isn’t always the way to go but sometimes perhaps the player’s need a bit of a kick in the right direction and I’m still not convinced Zola is capable of this.

In all fairness though, the game against Arsenal yesterday wasn’t the worst performance you will ever see. The defence and a rejuvenated Robert Green stood firm for the majority and it was unfortunate that an own goal from Julien Faubert set Arsenal on their way to victory. The football odds were favouring a credible 0-0 draw at this stage and I guess this sort of scenario sums up where West Ham are right now.

Emmanuel Adebayor sealed the victory in injury time to leave Zola extremely frustrated at West Ham’s fortunes. To make matters worse, Carlton Cole was sent-off for a foul on Alex Song. All in all, it was just one of those days for the home side.

There were positives though. Craig Bellamy was a constant threat and he looked back to something like his best form. Ok, his finishing wasn’t quite there, but he caused Arsenal no end of problems. Who knows which way the game would have gone had he converted his excellent chance in the first half. West Ham would have taken a lot of heart. However, instead, we are rueing what might have been.

As mentioned though, Zola is still in good spirits. He believes that the results are just around the corner and that the players are doing everything he asks of them on the pitch. Everything other than score, I presume. The main vibe coming from Zola though is to stay positive and stay faithful to the current crop of West Ham players. The goals and therefore results will start coming.

In this situation, I suppose a trip to Old Trafford isn’t the most ideal next fixture for the Hammers. However, that’s how it is. Zola’s men face the Premier League champions in Manchester and most football betting money will be placed on another West Ham defeat.

Zola won’t let his players think like this though. He will promote the notion that victory at Old Trafford could be the result that kick starts the rest of their season. It would be the ideal way to get back to winning ways, after all. So that’s what Zola will be drumming into his players. They have the ability to beat Manchester United, perhaps it is just the belief they need.

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