Liam Manning said his young players did not grasp their opportunity in the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday night as they were beaten 2-0 by Exeter City.
The Hammers went down by the same scoreline suffered in their first clash in the competition last week against Bristol Rovers, after two first half goals from Jonathan Forte.
An enforced half an hour break following a power cut which caused half St. James Park’s floodlights to flick to darkness saw the match pause after just 17 minutes, and the visitors failed to switch back on themselves after the lights had, conceding within three minutes of the restart.
Manning was disappointed with his side’s reaction to the stoppage, as well as the Hammers’ overall performance.
He said: “It was obviously an extremely difficult game against a team performing well in League Two. We knew it would be tough coming into it having a relatively young side but it’s a great opportunity for them to learn and show what they’re about but not enough of them took that opportunity tonight.
“I think the break we had did have an affect on us; we conceded three minutes after and then again after that. As they grow up into senior players they will have to learn that there are distractions and challenges like that that you may face and it shows how importance concentration is.
They need to understand the seriousness and what full commitment actually looks like. You can’t keep losing football games
Liam Manning
“We kind of had the idea it might happen; when we came back to the dressing room, we spoke about the importance of keeping those concentration levels and making sure the lads understood they have to go again, but conceding three and a half minutes after that killed us.
“I think the lads need to understand how serious it is; they need to understand the seriousness and what full commitment actually looks like. You can’t keep losing football games.”
It’s now four defeats in a row for the young team, who were defeated in Saturday’s London derby against Chelsea at Dagenham and Redbridge’s Chigwell Construction Stadium.
Despite the frustrating run of form, Manning believes his team will have taken a lot from so many games played in such a short period of time.
“Everton is the next one on Monday next week, so we need to get back to training and get our heads around what tonight’s match really looks like.
“I think in terms of the run we have had, it’s great exposing our players to what a first team experiences in terms of matches. You come back from a game, you recover and train and set up for the next match and you go again.
“I think tonight was a great lesson for them from that perspective.”
The Hammers fielded a very young side in the south west due to a combination of two things; injuries, of which there were a number, and absentees who could be involved with the first team on Wednesday for their Carabao Cup encounter against Macclesfield Town.
“The big positive this week is that we have players involved with the first team tomorrow, so that’s a big positive from the Academy’s perspective,” Manning reflected.
“Taking a step back from things, that’s a huge positive and you want one of those to grasp that opportunity seeing their teammates having done that. Nobody really did that tonight so that’s obviously disappointing.
“The lads involved have done really well to be fair. The one thing that hits you about them is that they are committed to doing things properly and proving themselves and when you see them in training and matches, they’re reliable, so hopefully they get an opportunity tomorrow night.”