David Moyes says he must draw better performances from his defenders after a disappointing showing in defeat against Southampton.
The Hammers sat off as Mohamed Elyounoussi scored a fine opener from the edge of the box before a sloppy penalty allowed James Ward-Prowse to score and Jan Bednarek sealed three points with a set piece goal.
Moyes’s side were also shoddy at the back in their Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat at Tottenham before Christmas.
West Ham are without first choice central pairing Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna while left-back Aaron Cresswell remains out.
Issa Diop and Craig Dawson should be able deputies, but have struggled in recent weeks.
"I felt that overall we shouldn’t be conceding the goals we conceded today," Moyes said.
"It wasn’t good. I didn’t like the goals we conceded at Tottenham in midweek either.
"It’s our job to get them better, make them better, we’ve got really good players so we’ve got to try to get them playing at the top of their game."
Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek also struggled to exert their usual control over midfield as Moyes bemoaned an off day for all involved.
"I didn’t think it was anything like us," said Moyes.
"I’m hoping I can make it as an off-day for us. Not the West Ham I’ve been with in the last two years. That’s what disappointed me more. You can have off-days. We’re not any different. Today was a poor one. I thought we’d done enough to get ourselves back in the game and turn a bad day into a good day."
