Football May 30, 2026

West Ham: Roy Keane hits out at lack of intensity and desire in Hammers performance during defeat at Newcastle

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
West Ham: Roy Keane hits out at lack of intensity and desire in Hammers performance during defeat at Newcastle

West Ham lacked intensity and desire in their damaging defeat at Newcastle, says Your Site pundit Roy Keane.

The Hammers are in big danger of being relegated from the Premier League after their 3-1 loss at St James' Park.

Rivals Spurs need only one point from their final two Premier League fixtures to send West Ham down to the Championship. Should Spurs lose at Chelsea on Tuesday night, live on Your Site, West Ham would then need to beat Leeds at the London Stadium and hope Everton win at Spurs on the final day.

But despite the high stakes on Sunday, West Ham errors helped Newcastle to victory.

"I bet Newcastle couldn't believe their luck," said Keane. "This is a Newcastle team who haven't been brilliant recently and you're gifting them the game.

"They had a go in the end - but it's very easy to have a go when you're 3-0 down. The game is done.

"It's about the way they started the game. That wasn't a team fighting for their lives.

"Obviously they're lacking confidence. It's as if they've not recovered from last weekend [against Arsenal]. The decision went against them last week, almost feeling sorry for themselves.

"Be compact, be hard to beat, stay in the game. They've done the opposite of that. They've gifted goals and the table doesn't lie. Not good enough. The decision-making - that is schoolboy stuff."

West Ham were 2-0 down inside 19 minutes, with the first goal - coming from a poor pass out from goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, which allowed Harvey Barnes to cross for the unmarked Nick Woltemade to score - setting the tone.

"I can't believe it," said Keane when reviewing that goal. "Players make mistakes. It's what you do after that. You try to cover for your team-mates.

"No intensity, no desire. Fighting for their lives? They didn't show that.

"To start the game like that, it's a long way back."

Nuno Espirito Santo has admitted West Ham's fans were right to chant that his players were "not fit to wear the shirt" after defeat at Newcastle left them on the brink of Premier League relegation.

A section of the travelling support made their feelings abundantly clear on the final whistle, and Nuno had no problem with that.

He said: "It hurts a lot, of course. This is our job, this is our life, but the fans are right and today they show their anger and frustration and they have reasons to.

"It hurts, it hurts the boys, it hurts us, it hurts the club. That's why this week we should finish the season with dignity and respect for the fans.

"We should do better so we can show at the London Stadium to our fans a different performance and attitude in terms of the game.

"Anything is possible. Let's wait for Tuesday. Even though it's difficult, we're still alive. Let's see. There's some hope. But more than anything is respect. Let's prepare ourselves and show a better performance. This is what our fans deserve.

He added: "Bad performance and a bad day for us. It's going to be a tough week ahead. After today, it's going to be a very tough week."

West Ham midfielder Matheus Fernandes also gave a damning assessment of the team's performance. He called on his team-mates to step up and take responsibility.

"The first 20 minutes was so painful for us," he told Your Site. "We are trying to do one thing and when we arrived, we did the other thing.

"They score the chance and after that, we tried to create and just score one goal.

"We have this week to believe, we just need to believe. It's our responsibility and we need to do much better.

"Since the first day, it is the players who decide the game. We need to take responsibility for this moment. We have one more game.

"It's frustrating because it is one game that can change everything; it is difficult."

At full-time, West Ham's players were greeted with chants of 'You're not fit to wear the shirt' when they went to thank their travelling supporters.

"We didn't play with full fight and spirit like we did against Arsenal," said Fernandes when asked about that. "We missed everything: the fight, the energy and the second balls.

"Very hard to think about the future. One game to try and be good. It is difficult but it is football; anything can happen."

Tags:

football news

Share this article

Related Posts

Partick Thistle 1-1 St Mirren: Aidan Fitzpatrick cancels out Killian Phillips' opener to keep Premiership play-off final poised ahead of second leg

Partick Thistle 1-1 St Mirren: Aidan Fitzpatrick cancels out Killian Phillips' opener to keep Premiership play-off final poised ahead of second leg

Partick Thistle and St Mirren go into the second leg of their William Hill Scottish Premiership play-off final on an even keel after battling out a 1-...

Alexia Putellas: Ballon d'Or-winning midfielder to leave Barcelona as London City Lionesses hold 'positive talks'

Alexia Putellas: Ballon d'Or-winning midfielder to leave Barcelona as London City Lionesses hold 'positive talks'

Barcelona have confirmed captain Alexia Putellas is leaving the club amid strong interest from London City Lionesses this summer.London City have held...

Premier League sides in Europe 26/27 - who has qualified plus dates and schedule for Champions League, Europa League and Conference League

Premier League sides in Europe 26/27 - who has qualified plus dates and schedule for Champions League, Europa League and Conference League

The Premier League will have nine sides in Europe in 2026/27 after Crystal Palace's Conference League triumph. Here's your rundown of who's qualified...

Premier League pre-season friendlies 2026/27: Fixtures, results, UK kick-off times, summer tour schedule and training camps

Premier League pre-season friendlies 2026/27: Fixtures, results, UK kick-off times, summer tour schedule and training camps

Premier League clubs are getting ready for the 2026/27 with their pre-season fixtures and tours.Here's where all 20 teams will travel to on their pre-...

Bruno Fernandes: Man Utd captain wins Premier League Player of the Season award after historic campaign at Old Trafford

Bruno Fernandes: Man Utd captain wins Premier League Player of the Season award after historic campaign at Old Trafford

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been named the Premier League Player of the Season. The 31-year-old has scored eight goals and equalled...

Premier League set for big managerial shake-up this summer with at least five clubs making a change in the dugout

Premier League set for big managerial shake-up this summer with at least five clubs making a change in the dugout

Chelsea and Manchester United have already made big decisions over who will be in the dugout for them moving forward. Pep Guardiola has decided to lea...