West Ham United's silent January was always going to trip them up. On a sopping wet Saturday lunchtime against the club that took the opposite approach to last month’s transfer window and spent wilfully in pursuit of survival, David Moyes' team looked sluggish from the start and exhausted by the end.
They could have zero complaints about a result that leaves them not only clinging on to hopes of a Champions League place that seemed more than realistic a few weeks ago but, once rivals' games in hand are factored in, no longer even sure of a Europa League spot.
Moyes said he was “thrilled” to take a draw against the team 17th in the table because the performance level was so poor but that cannot be the stance of a club with genuine ambitions of qualifying for Europe’s top competition.
