West Ham United forward Andre Ayew urged his side to stay strong as they look to recover from Wednesday night’s 4-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park.
Ashley Williams added to Wayne Rooney’s hat-trick to seal a comfortable win for the Toffees on Merseyside as David Moyes’ team suffered their second defeat in consecutive away matches in the Premier League.
Manuel Lanzini was denied from the penalty spot with the Hammers looking for a way back into the game at 2-0, but the hosts kicked into fifth gear to secure maximum points in the huge clash between the struggling sides.
Ayew, who was restored to the starting XI for the fixture, was left hugely disappointed after the full-time whistle and admitted the players on the pitch must take full responsibility for the performance.
He said: “There are no words. We came here with lots of determination to do something. We leave here with zero points and four goals conceded. It’s not normal.
We need to stay strong, be men, take responsibility and move forward. It’s been frustrating but we need to turn our season around
Andre Ayew
“It’s not going to be easy, it will be difficult as we have tough games coming up. But we need to tune our mind and fight and try and get the maximum points that we can from those games.”
Moyes’ side have a tough run of fixtures approaching, with Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal making up their next three opponents.
And Ayew believes the story could have been so different heading into December had the Hammers taken their chances at Goodison Park when looking for a way back into the match.
Lanzini tested Jordan Pickford with a rasping drive and Aaron Cresswell smashed against the crossbar just before the penalty was awarded.
“We had an opportunity to come back to 2-1 and I think that would have maybe changed the game because we came out for the second half with a lot of determination," Ayew continued.
“It’s football. We came here with determination and our confidence was higher [after Leicester] than it was before, but we conceded two early goals.
“It’s been frustrating but we need to turn our season around.”