Farke's squad were not in great conditionplaceholder image
Farke's squad were not in great condition | Getty Images
West Ham look a long way off the required standard in the Premier League.
The defeat means West Ham are off to their worst start in 52 years having picked up just four points in their first nine Premier League games.
What makes this defeat worse is that Leeds had an illness crisis coming into this game, reducing the availability of their squad, while those who returned did so on the back of limited training. “It is never easy to win a Premier League game at this level,” Farke told Leeds club media. “We had a really difficult week, perhaps even a bit more difficult than I spoke about during my last press conference.
“But we were struggling so much with illnesses in the camp and injuries. Players were just back after perhaps a short-term injury. So it was so difficult today to find a good balance and it was so, so difficult. You could feel it in the first half.
“We started very aggressively, very bravely, with passion. We wanted to win this game. Very spirited, deserved to be in the lead for 2-0. But also there, you could feel a little bit that it was a bit wild sometimes against the ball and with the ball.
“I think we had games where we had a way better structure and way more control and way more dominance during the season. But it was just the reason, it was just this difficult training week for us. Yes, in the second half, I think we started way better in terms of control and our organisation against the ball.
“Had much control, missed a bit to score the third goal and the last 20 minutes you could then really see again what a difficult week we had. Of course, a nervous last four minutes to bring it over the line this time but nevertheless, the prize is three points.
“It is always like you have to dig in to win the momentum back. This is what we did today and for that, I am very, very pleased. Of course, I would have preferred for my nerves a third and fourth goal, perhaps, but I am very pleased with his hard work.”
The scale of West Ham’s challenge
Even this early in the season, this felt like an important game for West Ham, with Leeds a team they will potentially be battling for survival. But even against a team they should have been evenly matched with, they fell out of the game early doors and were unable to truly threaten until the dying moments.
Farke’s comments then show how much worse it all is, with Leeds seemingly not at their best and not at full strength, and they were still able to win relatively comfortably. What does that say about the quality of this Hammers side and how far they are away from the team they need to beat if they want to finish outside the bottom three?
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