Under-fire Julen Lopetegui promised West Ham will get things right in the future – but in the meantime must mature and show greater character.
The Hammers manager’s stern message came after a dire goalless draw against Everton did little to ease the pressure on his precarious position in the London Stadium hot-seat.
Lopetegui, whose side were booed off by the restless home faithful at the end, conceded: “That’s normal. They’re not happy with our 12 points and we aren’t happy with it either.
“I always work under pressure but we must improve, we must grow up as a team – and show more personality.
“Okay, we’re not happy with our position now but I’m sure we are gong to finish higher and a lot will have changed in a few months.
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“And that’s the frustration because in the first half we just gave away 45 minutes. We had to be better with our energy and attitude. I don’t remember any quality in the half.
“But we were better in the second half with iour aggression and over the whole 95 minutes, I think we deserved to win. It was very clear the best player out there was Jordan Pickford.”
That was indisputable. The Everton and England stopper made at least four crucial saves, including a stunner in the dying seconds to deny Hammers sub Danny Ings.
Strangely, Toffees boss Sean Dyche played down Pickford’s heroics, perhaps in an effort to support the idea the visitors had warranted a share of the spoils.
Which was just about true – given they dominated the opening period and were only seriously under the cosh in the latter stages.
The Goodison Park chief, whose side are four points clear of trouble, said: “Jordan didn’t have much to do before the late fine save…other than stay concentrated. He did that in a fine way – as all top keepers do. I did commend him for that.
“It was a solid performance. We just missed that bit of devil required, which turns solid performances into winning ones.”