Sunday 25 September 2016 17:22, UK
Ahead of West Ham's clash with Southampton on Super Sunday, Danny Higginbotham breaks down why West Ham have struggled to hit the heights of last season.
The Hammers, who finished seventh in the Premier League last term, have taken just three points from five games this season and suffered a 4-2 defeat at West Brom last Saturday.
Manager Slaven Bilic said he was "very embarrassed" by his side's performance as West Brom raced into a 4-0 lead before the Hammers clawed back two goals in the second half.
Higginbotham - a former full-back - believes the answer to West Ham's troubles lies out wide, where Aaron Cresswell has been missing with a long-term knee injury,
"People have been using the new stadium as an excuse, but I think there is more to it than that," Higginbotham said.
"A player that hasn't been mentioned too much but who is a huge miss is Cresswell at left-back. Last season we saw the West Ham full-backs providing fantastic width. When the two wide men drove forward, what you would find is that the likes of Manuel Lanzini and Dimitri Payet would have more time and space to work in between the lines.
"Whereas this season the play has been a lot slower as they haven't got that pace in key areas - that has resulted in Payet and Lanzini struggling to get time on the ball in order to dictate play."
Hit the video at the top of the page to watch Higginbotham's analysis in full.
