West Ham United assistant manager Mervyn Day admitted everyone was "very disappointed" at the 4-1 defeat at Manchester United but paid tribute to the effort shown.
Two goals from Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo and a further strike from Carlos Tevez did the early damage, although Dean Ashton did pull one back just before the half-hour with a spectacular overhead kick. Day was particularly rueful of the early setbacks, especially Ronaldo's opener inside three minutes. "The first one was unfortunate because Lucas Neill slips, it gets a deflection off George McCartney, and you have let a goal in at Old Trafford against the exact side that played Barcelona on Tuesday and it is one uphill battle after that."
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Manchester United went into the game knowing two wins from their final two fixtures would guarantee the league title and the Champions League finalists were in determined mood. That said the away side were equally eager to make it four straight wins against Sir Alex Ferguson and also looking to confirm a tenth-place finish. Alan Curbishley's hopes were hampered though by having to replace Ashton and Luis Boa Morte, who started with Freddie Ljungberg now out for the remainder of the season, early in the second half just before Michael Carrick added a deflected fourth.
Day said: "Dean Ashton was going to come off five minutes before half-time. He tweaked his groin when he scored. He got to half-time and then said he would like to keep going but he was not particularly mobile and couldn't get around the pitch. We thought we would protect him a little bit as we have got another game next weekend. Luis Boa Morte got a whack on the hip which was impinging on his running style."
Even though the hosts had to play with ten men after Nani's sending off on 37 minutes with the score at 3-1, Day said he could not fault the commitment of the travelling team. "If you go in our dressing room they are absolutely shattered," he added. "They might not have been good enough on the day but they have worked their socks off. One thing I will defend them on totally is their effort. They might have got caught in possession, they might not have passed it particularly well in certain areas but you go in there now there is an awful lot of tired bodies."
He also paid tribute to the youngsters like James Tomkins, who continues to show his potential after getting his chance with the absence of six injured centre-backs at the club. Day described the England Under-19 international's showing against Ronaldo and Tevez as another "great learning experience" while Freddie Sears also furthered his football education with a late run-out.