Bowen calls West Ham 'not good enough' and admits team 'struggling' as strugglers lose again at Leeds
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen branded his side's performance 'not good enough' as they fell further into relegation trouble with a 2-1 defeat at Leeds.
Visitors trailed 2-0 in 15 minutes thanks to goals from Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon and failed to recover from the poor start, with Matheus Fernandes' injury-time goal not enough to halt a seventh Premier League defeat of the season.
As always, skipper Bowen was one of the Irons' few bright sparks and he called on his side to show more after some hapless defending led to the opening two goals.
He told Sky Sports: “It's obviously not good enough. We started well against Brentford and we wanted to do the same.
“But the way we defended the goal was almost bad. Then we almost came back, the goalkeeper made a good save on my attempt and then again on a corner.
“It's just not brave enough, we don't do the job well enough until the end.
“We get a goal back, it's disallowed. It always felt like a goal and you always get a bit of confidence when you score.
“We did it, it was too late. Not good enough.”
Bowen: 'We have to accept that we are in trouble now'
West Ham are just three games into Nuno Espirito Santo's reign but the mood continues to deteriorate at the club, with Bowen admitting the mood is poor in the dressing room.
He added: “There can be many reasons for that. But the dressing room when you are second in the league and have won one game all season is weak.
“I've been saying it for a few weeks now, going out and doing interviews: the only way this is going to change is if the players step up, roll up their sleeves and get ready for the fight.
“We need more of that week in and week out. When things aren't going great, it's easy to hide and be afraid, but as easy as it is to say it, it's hard to do. We have to do it, that's my only mindset.
“And that’s what I told the players: roll up your sleeves and dig in, because no one is going to give us that.
“It's the Premier League and we really need to stick our finger out. As we're in a real situation. We need to face reality, the sooner this starts hitting everyone, it's going to have to change.
“You can't come here and say something different. You can't say anything positive or anything like that. You have to face the reality of where we are: second lowest and we're struggling now. We have to accept that.”
Rodon: Momentum is key in fight against relegation
Leeds' impressive debut season in the Premier League continued on Friday night, as they moved up to 13th, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Rodon headed Leeds' second goal early on and the defender was delighted with the way the hosts responded to last weekend's tough 2-0 defeat to fellow promoted side Burnley.
The defender told Sky Sports: “It was important to show a reaction after last weekend. We weren't happy with last weekend and we came out of the traps early. I thought the boys showed great intensity.
“Everything is difficult in this league. We learned it especially in the last moments. Frustrated to concede at the end but happy with the three points.
“Everyone has seen that the home support is incredible. It's important to keep the momentum going. I'm delighted to get back to winning ways.”
2025-10-24 21:43:00
