David Moyes blasted a “weak” West Ham performance after they were thrashed 6-0 by Arsenal.
But the Hammers boss asked unhappy fans to remember that the last three years have been “probably the best West Ham have ever had”.
Sunday’s thrashing by Arsenal extended West Ham’s winless run to seven matches, with many fans leaving at half-time when their side were already 4-0 down.
Criticism of Moyes’s defensive playing style has grown in recent weeks, with supporters disappointed by the team’s poor results and perceived negative tactics.
“A really poor day for us,” Moyes said. “Very difficult to explain how we played so poorly.
“Arsenal played exceptionally well, we must give them the credit.
“The disappointing thing for me is, since I’ve come back to the club, I don’t think my teams defend like that ever. The disappointing thing is we were weak today, didn’t do the jobs well enough, didn’t fight to contain harder. We could have conceded other goals as well.”
Addressing growing unrest among fans, Moyes said: “To be a football supporter, there’s always going to be bad times. Especially this club, who people know a lot more about than me - I came back twice to keep them out of relegation.
“It was only three months ago when we were having probably the best time West Ham have ever had. Let’s be fair, probably the last three years have been as good a time as West Ham have had.
“I still think this club has grown, [but] undoubtedly we’ve had a terrible day today. So I understand them, totally, in leaving. Sometimes at football clubs you’re going to have bad days. Today we had a bad day. But I certainly won’t forget the good ones.”
Moyes added: “Defensively it’s just not good enough. I don’t know what other words I’ve got. We all take shared responsibility. Me and my staff need to look at what we could have done differently.
“Last month we won 2-0 and missed a penalty in the last minute to make it 3-0 at the Emirates. Maybe we’re forgetting: a month ago it was us. And we probably didn’t have as strong a team out that night. We probably had people away.
“Today, I thought maybe we could have Arsenal’s number - but it was far, far from that.”
