‘Sums It Up’ – Sign Of State Of West Ham Pointed At By Former Hammer | OneFootball

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Former West Ham United star Scott Minto has pointed to the shape of the Hammers’ bench against Leeds United to show that recruitment at the club has largely failed.

West Ham will be playing their football in the Championship next season and entertaining the likes of Lincoln City at the London Stadium.

They did beat Leeds United 3-0 on the final day to give themselves a chance of survival, but Minto believes even the result flattered West Ham.

He pointed to the West Ham bench against the Whites as evidence of the club’s terrible recruitment in recent transfer windows.

Minto is now concerned for a West Ham side that will have to play in the Championship at a stadium which is an athletics stadium and not a football stadium.

He insists the atmosphere at the London Stadium is far off that generated at Upton Park when he was a player, even though he can understand why the owners were tempted to make the move.

Minto said on talkSPORT (24th May, 18:25): “I look at the bench and it’s just not good enough.

“The recruitment, we talk about over a whole season, but even today just sums it up. You’ve got Callum Wilson and that’s about it.

“I think that’s just a sign of where West Ham are right now.

“Yes, I played at Upton Park. I’m telling you now, I played one week at Upton Park, 27,000, I play away at Old Trafford, 75,000. You couldn’t compare the atmosphere.

“In a way I feel for the owners in the sense that it was a financial deal that was the steal of the century to pay next to nothing to be at a stadium like this.

“But it’s not a football stadium. It’s not a purpose built stadium. It’s an athletics stadium and whatever you try and do, it has definitely lost some of the passion the West Ham fans had emitting from the stands towards the pitch.

“To think they said we are going to move there and head towards Champions League football and it’s now going to be Championship.

West Ham will need to raise money through player sales in the summer before they can even think about shaping a squad that can handle the unique demands of the Championship.

There are questions over who will be in charge, with some Hammers fans not having been impressed with the survival bid Nuno Espirito Santo led.

Nuno did though guide Wolves to the Championship title in the 2017/18 campaign.

West Ham will also have to see how many fans are prepared to buy season tickets to watch second tier football at the London Stadium, with selling out a 60,000 capacity ground tough.