West Ham's Winston Reid has come out in defence of the club's much-maligned new ground, claiming that despite the negative results, the London Stadium now 'feels like home.'
The Hammers have endured a woeful start to the campaign, particularly in front of their own fans where they have won just twice all season, and had deal with bouts of fan violence in their inaugural season at the former Olympic Stadium.
The poor form, including Sunday 1-5 defeat to an Alexis Sanchez-inspiredArsenal,has ledto reported crunch talks between manager Slaven Bilic and the West Ham hierarchy, as the club sit precariously above the relegation zone going into the Christmas period.
In spite of the the turnaround in results, West Ham were 10 points better off at this stage last season, Reid told the Hammers' matchday programme, as quoted by theExpress:"I think it feels like home now."
Despite his assertion that the team have settled into life in Stratford, the New Zealand defender admits there were some things that took a while to adjust to.
"It is different to where I was used to playing at for the last six years, where everything was tight at Upton Park," Reid stated.
"Even when things weren't going for you in games, if you made a tackle you could feel the crowd get behind you."
Rio Ferdinand has offered his services to the West Ham board as a defensive coach. pic.twitter.com/Bi5tQbwrA1
Instead of using the new surroundings as a scapegoat the 28-year-old is keen to stress that it's up to the players to make the difference.
"We weren't the team we were last year and the fans didn't have as much to get excited about.
"At the end of the day it's really only us on the pitch who can do something about it, and get the fans behind you and supporting you."
Reid and West Ham face Liverpool away next in the Premier League, before what would under normal circumstances be deemed winnable home fixtures against Burnley and Hull before Christmas Day.
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