Bilic: Arsenal hammering was a 'humiliation'

West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has described his side’s 5-1 home defeat to Arsenal as a “humiliation.

With their key man in defence, James Collins, leaving the field after seven minutes, the Hammers slumped to their sixth consecutive defeat and now lie just three points above the relegation zone.

“I am not looking for excuses. Yes we had injuries and mistakes, but we were not good enough,” Bilic told BT Sport.

“I feel disappointed. I feel humiliated and it’s my responsibility.

“I feel under pressure, I put the pressure on myself. I am not happy with the display. I don’t want to feel like this, so, of course, I am feeling pressure. But the pressure is not a problem. Things have to change. Quality is not enough.

“It was a big humiliation. I feel sorry for the fans and the club. We played some good games in this season and had some good moments today even at 0-0 and 1-0 down.

“But I have to be honest and say we don’t have the intensity and from the dedication comes the quality. We don’t have it the same as last season, even in training.

“We have it occasionally in games and that’s why we are so up and down. We are in a serious situation before this game which we don’t like. The players know that, but it’s not only about knowing, but sacrificing and dedication for the game.

“James Collins has for the whole season had a little bit of a tight calf, but he was ready to play. He did not feel it before the game, but just early on in the match. It’s bad luck, but that’s not the reason we lost.”

Bilic felt his side played well to half-time, when they trailed just 1-0, but that they capitulated after that point.

“It was awful by the end. At half-time, going in 1-0, we were lucky. I thought at that time we could have got something out of the game, but as soon as it went 2-0 our heads dropped,” he said.

“It was disappointing early on to lose James Collins – it was hard for the team and we had to alter our formation. We held on until half-time, but then let things slip. We pushed on to try and score some goals, but left gaps at the back.

“We have been going through a tough spell, but I think we can get out of it.”

Photo: Getty/Jordan Mansfield

Setanta Sports is now eir Sport. We have 6 great channels of live sport including eir Sport 1 & 2 and all 4 BT Sport channels. The eir Sport pack is free to all eir broadband customers. To learn more about setting sport free visit www.eir.ie/sport.