West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini did not pull any punches after the Hammers’ 2-0 defeat to Everton yesterday. The Toffees were on top for most of the match but they were particularly dominant in the first half.

In a post-match interview, the Hammers boss admitted he would have considered substituting all eleven players at half time if he had the opportunity to do so:

“If I could have changed all 11 then maybe I would have done that because in the first half we did not shoot once, Everton dominated, had six or seven corners, scored and hit the post.”

“We improved a little bit more in the second half, had chances to score but it is a game we need to be very clear in what we need to improve and be the team that we were a couple of weeks ago.”

Pellegrini is usually a mild-mannered figure, but it was clear that yesterday’s performance was not up to standard. West Ham had eight shots on goal and four on target during the 90 minutes, but most of the big chances fell to the home side.

The Irons’ inconsistency continues to be a major problem for Pellegrini, and it will damage the club’s chances of finishing in the top half this season. They face Sheffield United at home in their next game on Saturday and fans will be expecting a much-improved performance.