Kurt Zouma says West Ham “couldn’t cope” with the pressure that Newcastle United put them under.

Once again West Ham have failed to capitalise on a brilliant opportunity to boost their chances of securing a fourth consecutive season of European football. Despite going 1-0 down early on in the match, they managed to take the lead on the stroke of half-time, before Jarrod Bowen extended their advantage to two goals just three minutes into the second-half.

Unfortunately, the Hammers were unable to keep hold of their lead, losing 4-3 with both Isak and Harvey Barnes scoring a brace. While Newcastles undoubtedly switched things on, captain Kurt Zouma knows that his side should have done better.

“It’s a bad day for us,” the defender confirmed. “Everyone was upset after the game, especially with the way things changed from being 3-1 up.”

“We were playing really well, but then we stopped. They put us under a lot of pressure and we couldn’t cope with it, and in the end they managed to get the goals that got them the win. Credit to them. They had nothing to lose and went for it when they were 3-1 down, and I think their substitutes made a difference. When they made it 3-2 we knew it was going to be hard with their fans, but we just didn’t do enough and it’s incredibly frustrating.”

However, Zouma was eager to acknowledge how this is far from a decisive game, and that West Ham could still have an extremely successful season. “There are still a lot of games to play this year, in the league and in the UEFA Europa League [where the Hammers are through to the quarter-finals], and we’ve still got a lot to play for, so we can’t dwell on this disappointment.”

“We have another game to get ready for on Tuesday night, so we need to move on quickly. We’ll try and learn from our mistakes today, and though we know Tottenham are a good team, hopefully we can get a result in that match.”

Unfortunately, West Ham’s fate in the Premier League is now, somewhat, out of their control. If the teams below them win their games in hand the Hammers drop out of the European places. They need to maximise points between now and the end of the season, especially over the next four games.