Cresswell - It is very frustrating

  • Aaron Cresswell left frustrated as West Ham United ended 2016 with a defeat
  • Hammers edged out 1-0 at Premier League champions Leicester City on New Year's Eve
  • Left-back says the players want to bounce back by defeating Manchester United on Monday

Aaron Cresswell could not hide his disappointment after West Ham United ended 2016 with a 1-0 Premier League defeat at Leicester City.

Despite dominating a large part of the game  and having 25 attempts on goal, which included Michail Antonio's volley striking the bar, they were unable to find a way past Kasper Schmeichel.

With the Foxes goalkeeper in prime form, saving Cresswell's deflected free-kick with an expert left-hand stop, Leicester won through Islam Slimani’s first-half header.

Cresswell admitted the players were upset they could not convert any of their chances and knows they should have taken something from the game at the King Power Stadium.

Cresswell

The No3 said: “It is very frustrating. We had some good chances and didn't take them. Our goalkeeper has not had much to do.

“In the first half we had a sloppy 15 to 20 minutes and they scored a goal which he has put away well.

“The manager is disappointed and they have taken their chance. We dominated the whole game after that but it is about putting the ball in the back of the net.

“It is frustrating because we could have ended the year well and kept our unbeaten run going.”

Cresswell is now hoping he and his teammates can bounce straight back and make it the perfect start to 2017 when they host Manchester United at London Stadium on Monday evening.

The Hammers defeated the Red Devils 3-2 in the Final Game at the Boleyn Ground last May, before drawing 1-1 at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture this season.

With those matches in mind, Cresswell is relishing the teatime tussle with Jose Mourinho's side.

“It is a game that we are looking forward to and we want to take all three points," he insisted.

“We know it is not going to be easy as they have some of the best players in the world, but we just want the three points and we are going to work hard to do that.”