West Ham United continued to endure a difficult start to the season after a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at home to newly-promoted Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Hammers have won just two of their first nine Premier League games and currently sit in 16th place, only clear of the relegation zone because of a slightly better goal difference than Everton.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic took charge in 2015 and enjoyed a good start to life as manager of the London club, steering the club to seventh place during his debut campaign.
However the same could not be said for last season, where they struggled to adapt to their new ground, the London Stadium, winning just seven out of 19 Premier League matches at home.
Despite recovering from an early dip to eventually finish 11th fans still expected a lot more from their side, who at one point looked in contention for a Champions League spot during Bilic’s first season at the club.
When a club has spent so long at their previous stadium, 112 years in West Ham’s case, there is naturally going to be an incredibly strong fondness of everything that place represented for fans and players alike.
Despite all the memories that would be left behind the new ground was a significant step to West Ham one day realizing their ambition of becoming an established top-four side.
The venue which was previously used during the London 2012 Olympics, provided a major increase in capacity of around 25,000 and was also seen as a great way for the team to become more economically successful.
However with that came a running track which encircled the ground, creating a greater separation between the players and the supporters.
Despite the best efforts of the team to quickly transition between stadiums, the move has continued to negatively impact results on the field. Early victories against Huddersfield Town and Swansea City the Hammers failed to impress during their first big test, losing by a narrow margin to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Although Tottenham had made a great start to the campaign themselves, the way in which they were allowed to go three goals in front without a great deal of fight from the Hammers was quite worrying.
Their most recent defeat against Brighton sparked a similar sense of despondency to the cause. The way in which the visitors were able to pass it about with relative ease showed a real lack of desire from the hosts.
Although it is still early in the season there is a real urgency to turn around their home form otherwise Bilic may soon find his time as West Ham manager cut short.
