West Ham lack intensity at Newcastle, says Roy Keane

West Ham were 2-0 down inside 19 minutes at St James' Park, and Roy Keane said that opening spell told him enough. He felt West Ham did not look like a side fighting for their lives, while Newcastle took full advantage after a poor pass out from Mads Hermansen led to Harvey Barnes crossing for the unmarked Nick Woltemade to score.

At full-time, West Ham's travelling supporters chanted, "You're not fit to wear the shirt". It was the sort of reaction that usually follows a team losing badly, but Keane's point was sharper than that. He said West Ham had given Newcastle the game.

Keane's criticism was about fight, not just the scoreline

"No intensity, no desire. Fighting for their lives? They didn't show that," Keane said. He also described West Ham's decision-making as "schoolboy stuff". That is hard to argue with when the game is already 2-0 by the 19th minute and the team in question are 18th in the Premier League with 36 points from 36 games.

Fernandes admitted West Ham fell short

Mateus Fernandes did not try to soften it. "The first 20 minutes was so painful for us," he said. "We are trying to do one thing and when we arrived, we did the other thing." He added: "We didn't play with full fight and spirit like we did against Arsenal. We missed everything: the fight, the energy and the second balls."

That is the cleaner reading of the afternoon. Mateus Fernandes has made 35 Premier League appearances this season and is rated 7.17, so this was not a fringe player speaking off the cuff. West Ham's travelling fans had already made their position clear before the final whistle, and the post-match noise was not about one bad finish or one loose pass. It was about a team that looked flat from the start.

Fernandes also said, "We have this week to believe, we just need to believe. It's our responsibility and we need to do much better." West Ham still need results to go their way, but after a performance like this, Keane's complaint lands because it matches what happened on the pitch.