David Moyes admitted his team have played as they did in Sunday’s 0-5 Premier League defeat at Chelsea too often this season.

Having fallen to a 2-5 scoreline on their last away trip to Crystal Palace, the Hammers found themselves with a mountain to climb by the 36-minute mark at Stamford Bridge, following goals from English trio Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke.

Any faint hopes of securing a fourth successive season of European football were all but quashed within three minutes of the second half when Nicholas Jackson notched his first of the game, before he completed his brace with ten minutes of the contest remaining.

“It was a difficult afternoon, and in the second half of the season we’ve probably had too many difficult afternoons,” said Moyes. “We just looked as if we were lacking real mental toughness and leadership out there today, which is obviously disappointing.

“The manager will always be the one who gets questioned and asked about what you do in these situations, but this is the same team that played against Liverpool last week and drew 2-2.

“We had to come and do a similar job to last week, but defensively and the jobs in front in midfield were so badly done today, which made it really difficult.”

Moyes added: “People want us to play with our best players, which we’re trying to do, but it’s exposing other areas of the pitch. Maybe we haven’t quite got the right organisation, and the players don’t work quite right in such a strict structure.

“Over the last three years I think there’s been a really strict structure here, but it’s got us good results and it’s got us European football. Today, our structure was so poor, players were out of position, and they didn’t do their jobs well enough.”

Now down to ninth in the standings, and five points off the seventh-placed Blues, who have played a game fewer, the Irons will be looking to restore their pride on their final home outing against Luton Town next weekend.