Collins: Hammers can’t rely on Payet magic

West Ham defender James Collins was quick to pay tribute to teammate Dimitri Payet following Saturday’s draw with Middlesbrough, but he admits the team cannot afford to continue relying on the Frenchman to get them out of trouble.

Cristhian Stuani’s header, just after half time, looked to be sending the Hammers to a fifth straight Premier League defeat, but Payet rescued a point with his stunning solo effort.

West Ham haven’t won a game since August 21, but Wales international Collins admitted even Payet’s brilliance isn’t enough to  lift them out of their current rut.

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“It’s a great goal and Dimi is a world-class player, but we can’t depend on him,” he said.

“We can’t depend on him to keep making goals like this, we need to be better defensively and better going forward and take our chances.

“It’s a lot to keep asking Dimi to come up with goals like that, so it’s something we need to work on.”
Heading into the international break, West Ham sit third from bottom having picked up just four points since the start of the new season.

But Collins believes Slaven Bilic’s men can build on this weekend’s point, insisting it has given the team a much-needed confidence boost.

“I think we knew we had to stop the rot. Obviously it’s been terrible the last four or five weeks so we knew we had to stop conceding goals and a point is what we needed,” he said.
“I thought we played better than that and deserved the three points, if I’m honest, but it stops the rot and we’ve got a break now and can get our heads on for the next game.”