Manuel Pellegrini admitted he found it hard to understand his West Ham United team’s second-half showing in Tuesday’s 3-0 Premier League defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Hammers went in level at Molineux, only for the home side to complete a deserved victory through a goal from Romain Saiss and two from Raul Jimenez after the break.
At the other end, West Ham failed to muster a single shot on target, while the Irons also lost Marko Arnautovic to a foot injury midway through the second period.
“I think in the first half, it was very close,” Pellegrini said. “It was a very tight game for both teams. But in the second half, we were a team that was uprooted out of the game.
“We conceded two goals from set pieces and we conceded three goals. They had other clear chances so really it’s difficult to understand why we are playing in this way.”
In the second half, we were a team that was uprooted out of the game
Manuel Pellegrini
The manager found frustration not only with his team’s defensive efforts, but also with their lack of attacking intent, with the Hammers only creating four half-chances and failing to test Rui Patricio in the Wolves goal.
“When, during the 90 minutes, you didn’t make one clear chance, you must be frustrated because we are always trying to play in the opposition’s side of the pitch.
"Maybe sometimes you can be a not very creative team, but you defend well, but we defended very badly also. We conceded two goals from set pieces, which decided the game.”
With the Irons now without a victory in three matches in all competitions, all of which have ended in defeat, Pellegrini is eager for his side to learn from their errors quickly.
The Chilean knows that the team is struggling due to the number of injuries, but says the players who are fit must improve their performances, starting with next Monday's home game against leaders Liverpool.
He continued: “I think the complete team didn’t have a good performance. There are a lot of reasons we must consider and we must study. We must know why we have been playing so bad in the last two weeks, after we beat Arsenal.
“I’m sad we conceded two goals from set pieces. Lukasz [Fabianski] made two or three saves at the start of the second half that were clear shots for Wolves also. I think we didn’t work as a team on defending.
“Maybe it’s too many games with the same players. We have so many players injured, so it’s difficult to find solutions. But we must concentrate if we are to improve.”
Finally, the manager gave an update on Marko Arnautovic, who was helped off with a right foot injury in the second half.
"I can't say more in this moment but I think it will not be an easy injury. I hope he has not any problem but we must review him in an examination on Wednesday."