Bilic rages at soft Hammers defence

West Ham need to tighten up their defence quickly if they are to pull away from the bottom of the table according to Slaven Bilic.

The Croatian manager  was a no-nonsense defender in his playing days and was horrified by the way the Hammers let Watford back into their clash at the London Stadium on Saturday, as West Ham threw away a two-goal lead to lose 4-2.

And their ineptitude at the back peaked when James Collins headed the ball away from keeper Adrian with no Watford player anywhere near, leading to Troy Deeney’s equaliser.

And Bilic has warned his team that they must press the opposition and put them under pressure if they are to stop the rot that has seen them concede nine goals in four games.

(Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

He said: “If we’re going to defend like this, we won’t win a single game. We can’t defend like that.

“The players know that and know what to do. I think it’s a matter of, after the first, and second goal, it’s a matter of confidence. You don’t believe in yourself because the opponent hit you maybe twice.

“You’re a little bit afraid to get exposed, you run into safe areas.

“If you don’t press them and let them cross the balls into the box, they will get into dangerous positions for us.”