Wayne Rooney questioned the commitment and desire of West Ham's beleaguered players in the wake of their relegation to the Championship. West Ham headed into the final day of the Premier League season in a two-team survival shootout with rivals Tottenham. The Hammers needed to beat Leeds and hope Everton, managed by their former boss David Moyes, could do them a favour and win away at Spurs.
Unfortunately for West Ham, Tottenham's win over Everton meant they were relegated despite beating Leeds 3-0 at the London Stadium. As West Ham and their supporters digest relegation and prepare for the Championship, Rooney stuck the boot in on their underperforming squad on Match of the Day.
"I've watched West Ham quite a few times this season and this is damning for the players, but I don't think the players have given enough," Rooney said. "I've seen players walking back, I've seen them not getting to the ball to put tackles in or stop crosses and they're the fine margins which you have to get right in the Premier League."
Alan Shearer also criticised West Ham's players and insisted they can have no complaints over the fact they will be playing Championship football next season, even though they amassed 39 points, the highest tally of any relegated team since 2011. "No, no way [are they unlucky]. You can't be unlucky after 38 games. The fact of the matter is you deserve to go down," he said.
"They've been really poor for long periods and eventually what happens at the top of the football club, I've always said it, filters down on to the pitch and that's what's happened at West Ham. Not good enough defensively, haven't scored enough goals and ultimately their recruitment over the years has been really, really poor. So no, they're not unlucky."
Shearer also pointed the finger at the club hierarchy over shoddy recruitment, adding: "Look at the three years since [former manager] David Moyes left. They've had 10 players that have been signed for £25 million or more. It's an incredible amount of money that's been spent and nowhere near are you getting value for money. Recruitment is such an important, big job and clearly that's hurt them over the last three years."
