Carlos Soler insists the West Ham United that were defeated 5-0 by Liverpool on Sunday is not the West Ham United that he knows exists within the squad.
The Irons ended 2024 on a low note, as goals from Luis Díaz, Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota left them well beaten on a chastening evening at London Stadium.
That defeat signalled the end of a four-game unbeaten run, with eight points from 12 lifting the Londoners to within reach of the top half of a congested Premier League table.
But defeat by Liverpool left those aspirations on hold for now and send a frustrated Soler and his teammates back to the drawing board.
“It was a very poor performance of our team,” an honest Soler reflected. “They won the match 5-0, but they could have scored more goals.
“We are not this team. We showed before that we are more competitive, more aggressive, and we have to change in this type of match because it's not the first [time it has happened]. We have to change this because we have shown before that we are able to do much better.
“It's difficult to talk today. I just say sorry to the fans because this is not West Ham. This is not the team that they deserve.
“It's not the best way to end the year, but let's try to start the next year, 2025, much better.”
As Soler looks back on his first five months as a Hammer, he pointed to a rollercoaster of ups and downs, including memorable wins against Manchester United and Newcastle United, but at the same time the lows of heavy losses to Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
He knows the east Londoners need to show much more of the former as they aim to achieve their goals in 2024/25 and give the Claret and Blue Army a happier second half of the campaign.
“Yes, we had good moments and bad moments [in 2024], and we have to learn about all of these moments,” he continued.
“2025 starts with a tough match against Manchester City there, but we have to go and play against the teams that I said before – Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal. Teams that are going to be at the top of the league at the end of the season.
“We have to change the mentality. I think we are able to show another face and to win these types of matches.
“I trust that we can do much better.
“But today, we’re just sorry for this match to our fans, because they were amazing, like always, but we didn't show our best face today.”
