Aaron Cresswell admitted West Ham United ‘did not get going’ in Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League defeat at Burnley.
The Hammers travelled to Turf Moor with confidence high after a run of five wins in six games, including an impressive victory at Southampton in their previous fixture.
However, with seventh place and a fourth straight away win up for grabs, West Ham produced arguably their worst performance of the season and were deservedly beaten by a Burnley team who had previously won just three games all season.
We’ve looked at the fixtures over the last few weeks and we’ve had some good results so now we want to get back on track again and try and get another win under our belts
Aaron Cresswell
“We didn’t get going and it wasn’t good enough,” the left-back conceded. “I don’t want to make excuses and say we had a day less to prepare or whatever it is and that the games come thick and fast as it’s the same for everyone over the festive period.
“Now we’ve got to get on with it and certainly not use any excuses as that wasn’t good enough and we’ve got to put it right in the next game now.
“I’m not taking anything away from them as they’re effective at what they do but certainly, from our point of view, it wasn’t good enough and we didn’t get going at all and didn’t create many chances. Andy [Carroll] had one in the last minute and a couple of others here and there, but they created a lot more.”
Cresswell said Sunday’s indifferent display was impossible to predict and even harder to explain, considering how well the Irons had played at St Mary’s Stadium just three days before.
“That’s the frustrating part of it, to go from five wins in the last six matches and not continuing that,” he confirmed. “We played well at Southampton then we didn’t kick on again, but we’ve got to go again as that’s all we can do.
“Five wins in December is a positive but it’s always a downer when you beat Southampton and come here expecting to get a point at least, so to go away with nothing is frustrating.”
December is over now, though, and January kicks-off with the visit of Brighton & Hove Albion to London Stadium on Wednesday 2 January, followed by a home Emirates FA Cup third round tie with Championship Play-Off hopefuls Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
Cresswell, who captained West Ham for the first time in last weeks’ victory at Southampton, says Manuel Pellegrini and his players will be eager to get Sunday’s defeat out of their systems when they face the Seagulls in midweek.
“It was a proud moment and an honour, as it always would be to lead out the lads at a massive club like West Ham,” he continued. “It was a special day for me, but the three points were more important and that’s what we got.
“We’ve looked at the fixtures over the last few weeks and we’ve had some good results so now we want to get back on track again and try and get another win under our belts.
“Then we’ve got the FA Cup to come as well, so the games come thick and fast this year and we’re looking forward to them.”