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Niclas Fullkrug said West Ham have a ‘mindset problem’, with late goals conceded in three of their last five games - Richard Pelham/Getty Images
There is a great deal of sympathy towards Niclas Füllkrug from the West Ham United hierarchy after the striker launched a scathing attack on his team-mates, describing their performance as “s---.”
The German international will not face any consequences for his angry outburst following the 1-1 draw at home to bottom club Southampton on Saturday.
Instead there is a growing sense of frustration – and agreement with Füllkrug – at West Ham, who are now 17th in the Premier League table, just above the three soon-to-be-relegated clubs.
There has been no bounce since the appointment of Graham Potter as head coach in January, following the sacking of Julen Lopetegui. West Ham have gained just a point per game, winning only three of Potter’s 13 league matches so far, which is worse than the Spaniard’s record.
However, the club is fully supportive of Potter and have been hugely impressed by his work on the training ground and behind the scenes as he attempts to turn the team’s fortunes around.
But there is frustration at how West Ham have dropped points late on in games, with Southampton scoring in the 93rd minute to salvage a draw.
“It’s a mindset problem,” Füllkrug told Sky Sports after the game, when West Ham were booed off at the London Stadium. “I am very angry. Not disappointed, just angry for what we did after the goal. It was difficult to bring the boys back to push up. We didn’t push up any more. We tried but we didn’t have the ability or the motivation to push up again.
“I’m very, very angry that we played like this because we had some minutes where we showed what we can do against an opponent like that at home. We showed that we can have good possession, that we can go in behind and that we have the chances to score again. But the motivation, sorry, we were s---. I’m very angry.”
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West Ham conceded a late Evanilson (right) goal in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at the London Stadium this month - TONY O BRIEN/REUTERS
It has led to senior West Ham sources questioning the mindset of some of the players with late goals conceded in three of the last five games – including against Everton (a 91st-minute equaliser from Jake O’Brien) and Liverpool (an 89th-minute winner from Virgil van Dijk) – and the lead being lost with 11 minutes left against Bournemouth (in a 2-2 draw).
It might be felt that given how injury-hit his season has been, following his £27 million signing from Borussia Dortmund, that Füllkrug is not best-placed to make such a strong criticism of his team-mates. The 32-year-old has made just 15 appearances and scored only three goals.
However, the reaction from within the club is that Füllkrug is right and is only saying it as it is and that West Ham need to assess what has been going wrong. The blame is not being laid on Potter, though, and there is optimism that he can turn things around, especially going into next season.
Even so, West Ham have little room within the Profit and Sustainability Rules for another heavy summer of spending in the forthcoming transfer window after an outlay last year, following Lopetegui’s appointment and after David Moyes left, of around £150 million.
Many of those deals have not worked out with the blame being pinned not just on Lopetegui but on technical director Tim Steidten, who left West Ham following Potter’s appointment.
Steidten was asked to stay away from the training ground by Moyes and also fell out with Lopetegui. Potter brought in Kyle Macauley as his head of recruitment.
It means that West Ham will have to sell players before they can give Potter the means to overhaul the under-performing squad at the end of a season when they were targeting qualifying for European football.
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