Danny Gabbidon has expressed his disappointment for the supporters and admitted failure to learn from mistakes had ultimately cost the club its Barclays Premier League status.
The centre-back pointed to Sunday's 3-2 defeat at Wigan Athletic as a microcosm for a season that, at times, promised salvation and cup glory, but ultimately ended in relegation.
At the DW Stadium, the Hammers failed to hold on to a two-goal lead for the fourth time this season following earlier collapses against Birmingham City - in both the league and Carling Cup semi-final - and Manchester United.
Yet again, a promising first-half performance was undermined by a failure to close out the match after the interval - a trait the No4 admitted West Ham have not been able to shake off this term.
"I think that game summed up our whole season," he said. "We were 2-0 up and ended up losing the game 3-2 in the last minute. It's been like that most of the season. We do some good things but also do so many bad things.
"We haven't learnt. We're 37 games in and we still haven't learnt from our mistakes, so that's why we are where we are.
"The whole performance was better in the first half. We were better going forward, we kept the ball when we had to, but the second half was totally different. They pushed, put more people up front and we didn't make the right decisions - when to keep the ball and when not to keep the ball, when to drop off and when to press. Everything just seems to go to pot when teams put a bit of pressure on us.
"They got their first goal and obviously got their tails up. Then, to lose in the last minute just sums the whole season up. The first-half performance and second-half performance sum up the season and I don't really need to explain much more. You could see it by watching that game and it was everything you need to know."
Sunday's defeat may have condemned West Ham to the drop, but it failed to silence the 4,500 travelling supporters who turned the North Stand into a sea of claret and blue.
Those fans had plenty to cheer as Demba Ba headed their side into a two-goal lead inside 26 minutes, but their passion shone through as they continued to sing in the face of Wigan's shattering second-half comeback.
Gabbidon, who has been at the club for five seasons, empathised with the supporters and insisted that they players were also hurting deeply following relegation.
"The five years I have been here, the fans have always been unbelievable. The West Ham support is something I couldn't believe from when I first came here. I didn't realise how many West Ham fans there were, wherever you go.
"It's a big club and well-supported and every away game has been the same. They turn out and I feel for them because they've been really patient with the team. They've understood the situation quite well and could have been harsher to us.
"For them to turn out in their numbers as they did on Sunday and not to get a win was disappointing. I'd just like to thank the fans for their support this season. They've been fantastic all season and us, as players, are disappointed for them."People will say that players out of contract don't care or don't want to play for the club, but I can tell you that couldn't be any further from the truth. The players were gutted in the dressing room.
"I'm out of contract in the summer and I'm hurting. Nobody wants to be relegated. It's a horrible thing for the fans and for the whole club, and for the players as well. It's disappointing because we haven't learned from our mistakes. We've had some good games, but we've made too many mistakes this season and that's why we are where we are, really."