Dimitri Payet has been partially blamed for West Ham’s defeat to Southampton.

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has been urged to relegate the club’s most expensive player Dimitri Payet to the bench. The Hammers currently sit at the 18th position on the league table with three points, having secured only one win and suffered five defeats in their first six league games. They have also conceded 16 league goals in six games, which makes it an average of two goals a match.

But according to former Welsh international Robbie Savage, time has come for Bilic to crack the whip on Payet, who he blames for not doing much defensively. The ex-Man Utd striker recently revealed that there is so much imbalance in the current West Ham squad. He told BBC’s Match of the Day 2 programme:

“Payet is magnificent but doesn’t do much defensively, he (Bilic) brought off Lanzini at half-time. I don’t think you can play with two or three of those attacking players when they are losing games.

“He’s got to think, do I leave Payet, he won’t, or Lanzini out. I don’t think you can carry both of them.”

Payet had a brilliant outing with the Hammers last season when he joined them from Ligue 1 outfit Olympique Marseille. The Frenchman scored nine league goals in 31 appearances, and was well-known for his pin-point free-kicks. His sterling performances made him a top transfer target in the summer for top European clubs such as Real Madrid and rivals Barcelona before pledging his loyalty to the East London club.

The Irons face newly-promoted outfit Middlesbrough next weekend in their Premier League fixture. Bilic is under pressure to steer the club back to winning ways, and to achieve this, he must strengthen his defence. 

 

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

West Ham United 1 - 1 Middlesbrough

October 1, 2016 10:00amLondon Stadium (London)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

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