West Ham defender Pablo Zabaleta has warned his teammates that they must become more consistent if they are to have a successful season.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side travelled to face Brighton on Friday night as one of the form sides in the Premier League having recently beaten Everton and Manchester United, as well as drawing against London rivals Chelsea.
However, the Hammers lacked intensity in the first-half and despite Manuel Pellegrini’s side dominating the second period they were unable to respond to veteran striker Glenn Murray’s 25th minute strike and left the South Coast empty handed.
Zabaleta admitted his side had not been at their best during the opening period at the Amex and insisted that West Ham must improve mentally if they are to perform consistently this season.
“In the first half we gave the ball away often and cheaply,”
“This is the Premier League and you can’t make those mistakes – we conceded the goal and then you always need to react.
“In the second half we were the better team, we kept the ball and created good chances but we couldn’t score.
“You need to be consistent as a team. Week in, week out you need to play well enough to pick up points. This is the most competitive and demanding league, so you have to be ready to play one game against a team who likes to keep possession, then the next against someone who is more direct.
“Every game is different and you have to be prepared to stop this. Then when we have the ball we need to play like we did in the second half.
“At this moment, all we need to do is learn and improve mentally, to be ready to play in the way we did for the second half for the 90 minutes.”