A furious Niclas Fullkrug launched a scathing attack on his team-mates as he accused West Ham of having a ‘mindset problem’ after they conceded a late equaliser against bottom side Southampton.
The German striker said the Hammers players ‘didn’t have the ability or the motivation’ to push up after Jarrod Bowen had given the hosts the lead at the London Stadium.
Lesley Ugochukwu’s goal in the third minute of stoppage time then earned the point for Southampton that took them level with Derby’s record tally of 11 points.
‘It’s a mindset problem,’ blasted Fullkrug on Sky Sports when asked why West Ham could not see the game out. ‘I am very angry. Not disappointed, just angry for what we did after the goal. It was difficult to bring the boys back to push up. We didn’t push up anymore. We tried but we didn’t have the ability or the motivation to push up again.
‘I’m very, very angry that we played like this because we had some minutes where we showed what we can do against an opponent like that at home. We showed that we can have good possession, that we have can go in behind and that we have the chances to score again. But the motivation, sorry we were s***. I’m very angry.’
Fullkrug set up Bowen for West Ham’s opener two minutes into the second half after the hosts had been booed off the pitch by their fans at the break and then had a goal ruled out for a foul on Aaron Ramsdale just after the hour.
Niclas Fullkrug unleashed an X-rated rant at his West Ham team-mates on Saturday afternoon
The striker blasted his side, claiming they were ‘s***’ during their 1-1 draw with Southampton
The Hammers lie 16th place in the table and are winless under Graham Potter since February
It’s a result that means West Ham are still without a win under Potter since February.
‘It’s not the first time that we score a goal and from the next thing we just shoot the ball long. We don’t try to play football anymore. We don’t push up anymore. We just sink. And that’s not the way we want to play.
‘We can play 65 minutes before with possession, even if it’s not perfect, but we try to play. We try to create chances, we try to score, and then we score a goal, and after that, half of the team tried to score again and the other half of the team just try to defend very deep and that’s not the way it works.
‘We have to find a way to have togetherness, to have the idea where we want to go, what we want to do. The coach is very clear of what he wants but we have to do it all, everyone has to do it.’
