West Ham players' dressing-room inquest sparked upturn, says Declan Rice

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  • Liverpool's draw at West Ham has let Man City back in with a shout of regaining top spot.

    Rising West Ham talent Declan Rice says a dressing-room inquest held by the players has sparked an upturn in fortunes for the Hammers.

    Manuel Pellegrini’s side earned a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium against visiting Liverpool on Monday, though the hosts were perhaps unfortunate not to take all three after Sadio Mane’s offside opener was missed by officials.

    Rice was again among those to impress and revealed that the significant improvement they demonstrated – following successive defeats by Wolves, AFC Wimbledon and Bournemouth – was inspired by a dressing-room inquest they held after that run.

    “After that January that we had where we lost a load of games, we all had a meeting with each other and said, ‘Look boys, we all need to pull our fingers out’,” the 20-year-old said.

    “Because it was not West Ham and not the results we want. The players just said after the Wolves game, ‘We need to sort it out’. We had watched the Wolves game back and saw the problems that we were creating and the things we were doing. Last night we changed it around.”

    On Marko Arnautovic, who ended up signing a new contract after being linked with a move to China, Rice added: “Nothing ever went on (with the forward). Whatever happened, happened. All the lads love Marko. He is great in the changing room. We all love Marko and we cannot wait for him to be back (from injury).”

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