Kurt Zouma gave a frank assessment of West Ham United’s 5-0 Premier League defeat at Fulham.
The captain admitted the Hammers had not been good enough in any department at Craven Cottage, where the Whites romped to a second consecutive five-goal victory against visitors who failed to reach the standards they had set in recent weeks.
A six-game unbeaten run was ended in disappointing fashion, and Zouma was honest in his review of the game when he spoke to West Ham TV.
“Today was a really bad day,” he said, matter-of-factly. “It was a bad day at the office and there was nothing today. Our performance was really bad. Losing five-nil, there is nothing to say, just sorry to the fans who came to support us. It’s a day to forget and we have to bounce back really quick.
“I think they were better than us everywhere on the pitch. They were just better than us, they ran more than us, they wanted to win more than us and physically they were maybe sharper than us.
“I think we couldn’t deal with them today. Physically we were nowhere near the levels and even mentally I would say we were nowhere near the levels, me first, and like I say it was a day to forget.
“We have to take responsibility and we take it and we stay as a team and we have to bounce back as quick as possible.”
This was the heaviest defeat Zouma had suffered in two-and-a-half seasons in Claret and Blue and the experienced France international was pulling no punches when he was asked how to sum up his feelings post-match.
“It was one of the worst games I’ve ever played since I came here, but I can see it happened and now it’s behind us and it’s done and there is nothing we can do about it, but we can react and try and make it gone for good in the next one or two games,” he continued, alluding to Thursday’s UEFA Europa League Group A decider with SC Freiburg and next Sunday’s Premier League fixture with Wolverhampton Wanderers, both of which will be played at London Stadium.
Those games come after two away matches in the space of four days at Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham.
Broadcast requirements meant the Irons had 24 hours less time to prepare for Sunday’s game than their hosts, but Zouma was not willing to make any excuses for his team’s sup-par performance in west London.
“I don’t know [if it made a difference],” he observed. “Maybe, but we are professionals, and we are used to playing Thursday and Sunday even though physically it is hard, especially after the game we played against Tottenham which was very difficult, but there was nothing for us today, like I said.
“It was a very, very bad day and I feel sorry for the fans who came up. There is nothing to be said. We just have to go home, rest and recover and get ready for the next game.”
