West Ham: Roy Keane hits out at lack of intensity and desire in Hammers performance during defeat at Newcastle
West Ham beaten 3-1 at Newcastle and now needing Tottenham to lose twice in the final week of the season against Chelsea and Everton to have a chance of staying in the Premier League; Roy Keane hits out at the attitude and application of the Hammers at St James' Park
Sunday 17 May 2026 22:40, UK
West Ham lacked intensity and desire in their damaging defeat at Newcastle, says Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane.
The Hammers are in big danger of being relegated from the Premier League after their 3-1 loss at St James' Park.
Rivals Spurs need only one point from their final two Premier League fixtures to send West Ham down to the Championship. Should Spurs lose at Chelsea on Tuesday night, live on Sky Sports, West Ham would then need to beat Leeds at the London Stadium and hope Everton win at Spurs on the final day.
But despite the high stakes on Sunday, West Ham errors helped Newcastle to victory.
"I bet Newcastle couldn't believe their luck," said Keane. "This is a Newcastle team who haven't been brilliant recently and you're gifting them the game.
"They had a go in the end - but it's very easy to have a go when you're 3-0 down. The game is done.
- Newcastle 3-1 West Ham - Match report and highlights
- As it happened | Teams | Stats
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"It's about the way they started the game. That wasn't a team fighting for their lives.
"Obviously they're lacking confidence. It's as if they've not recovered from last weekend [against Arsenal]. The decision went against them last week, almost feeling sorry for themselves.
"Be compact, be hard to beat, stay in the game. They've done the opposite of that. They've gifted goals and the table doesn't lie. Not good enough. The decision-making - that is schoolboy stuff."
West Ham were 2-0 down inside 19 minutes, with the first goal - coming from a poor pass out from goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, which allowed Harvey Barnes to cross for the unmarked Nick Woltemade to score - setting the tone.
"I can't believe it," said Keane when reviewing that goal. "Players make mistakes. It's what you do after that. You try to cover for your team-mates.
"No intensity, no desire. Fighting for their lives? They didn't show that.
"To start the game like that, it's a long way back."
Nuno: West Ham players deserved the jeers of travelling fans
Nuno Espirito Santo has admitted West Ham's fans were right to chant that his players were "not fit to wear the shirt" after defeat at Newcastle left them on the brink of Premier League relegation.
A section of the travelling support made their feelings abundantly clear on the final whistle, and Nuno had no problem with that.
He said: "It hurts a lot, of course. This is our job, this is our life, but the fans are right and today they show their anger and frustration and they have reasons to.
"It hurts, it hurts the boys, it hurts us, it hurts the club. That's why this week we should finish the season with dignity and respect for the fans.
"We should do better so we can show at the London Stadium to our fans a different performance and attitude in terms of the game.
"Anything is possible. Let's wait for Tuesday. Even though it's difficult, we're still alive. Let's see. There's some hope. But more than anything is respect. Let's prepare ourselves and show a better performance. This is what our fans deserve.
He added: "Bad performance and a bad day for us. It's going to be a tough week ahead. After today, it's going to be a very tough week."
Fernandes: We need to believe we can stay up
West Ham midfielder Matheus Fernandes also gave a damning assessment of the team's performance. He called on his team-mates to step up and take responsibility.
"The first 20 minutes was so painful for us," he told Sky Sports. "We are trying to do one thing and when we arrived, we did the other thing.
"They score the chance and after that, we tried to create and just score one goal.
"We have this week to believe, we just need to believe. It's our responsibility and we need to do much better.
"Since the first day, it is the players who decide the game. We need to take responsibility for this moment. We have one more game.
"It's frustrating because it is one game that can change everything; it is difficult."
At full-time, West Ham's players were greeted with chants of 'You're not fit to wear the shirt' when they went to thank their travelling supporters.
"We didn't play with full fight and spirit like we did against Arsenal," said Fernandes when asked about that. "We missed everything: the fight, the energy and the second balls.
"Very hard to think about the future. One game to try and be good. It is difficult but it is football; anything can happen."
