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da bwin： Pablo Zabaleta believes West Ham United are too “mentally weak” to qualify for the Europa League this season.
The Hammers lost 2-0 to Everton on Saturday, a result that dealt a bitter blow to their chances of finishing in the top-seven.
What’s the word?
The Hammers now lie 11th in the Premier League, two points behind seventh-placed Wolves.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have a game in hand, however, as do 10th-placed Watford.
And Zabaleta has blasted the club’s mentality as they attempt to overhaul the promoted side and qualify for Europe.
Speaking to the London Evening Standard, he said: “I am not happy at all because if you look at the season so far, we have not been consistent enough. We have had three or four bad performances against teams around us.
“There are five teams looking for that seventh position and it is all about one or two points difference between them.
“We have lost so many opportunities to be in that seventh place and it shows the weak mentality that we have probably got and which we need to improve looking forward.”
Form dips
Manuel Pellegrini’s team have struggled for consistency throughout the season.
Since the turn of the year, they have not won two Premier League games in a row, and their loss to Everton came on the back of a win over Huddersfield Town and a defeat to Cardiff City.
Zabaleta, having come from Manchester City, is the elder statesman in the squad and is right to be drawing attention to the Irons’ deficiencies.
It’s quite shocking to see an active player blast his own team quite so harshly, but it’s difficult to argue with the highly-decorated ace.
He has to hope that his team-mates listen as the season reaches its conclusion, with the club still in with an outside shot of qualifying for the Europa League.
Such has been their fluctuating form this term, it would be a surprise if they went any great distance in the competition.