West Ham United 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers: Ruben Neves warns Wolves after loss to Hammers
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Gianluca Scamacca scored 16 goals in 36 games in Serie A last term
Wolves captain Ruben Neves says there can be "no more excuses" after their poor start to the Premier League season continued with a 2-0 defeat at West Ham.
Bruno Lage's side slipped into the bottom three with a disappointing display as they failed to add to their meagre tally of three goals this term, with speculation growing over the Wolves' manager's future.
Without forwards Hwang Hee-chan, Raul Jimenez and long-term absentee Sasa Kalajdzic, there was a noticeable lack of attacking thrust to accompany some neat and tidy possession.
And their hopes of a second-half fight back against the Hammers also appeared to be solely placed on the shoulders of substitute Diego Costa as the former Chelsea forward played his first competitive match since December 2021.
"What we are doing in the Premier League is not enough and having the ball is not enough," Neves told Sky Sports.
"I think everyone, including me can give a little bit more. We are not in good form so something needs to change. The people [fans] don't deserve to see what we are doing at the moment.
"It is not the manager's responsibility it is everyone. We are the ones that can get the results. It is about us, not anybody else. We struggled a bit in the beginning with a lot of new players, a lot of players going out, but no more excuses."
In contrast, West Ham forwards Gianluca Scamacca and Jarrod Bowen were the inspiration behind their comfortable victory.
Italy international Scamacca, making only his second start in the English top flight following his £30.5m arrival from Sassuolo, opened the scoring with a superb half-volley into the top-right corner.
It delivered the Hammers' first goal prior to half-time this term and laid the platform for a valuable win that lifted David Moyes' side up from 18th to 15th in the table.
The hosts had started the day as the joint-lowest scorers in the division along with Wolves, but always looked the more threatening and deservedly added to their lead when Bowen drove a low effort past Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Costa had the visitor's best opportunity but he headed just wide from a teasing Adama Traore cross.
However, encouragingly for Lage, the former Spain international appeared relatively sharp given his long period of inaction and looked to have supplied an assist for Daniel Podence's tap-in before being adjudged to have run marginally offside.
Hammers hit form as Wolves' woes continue
Moyes praise for 'brilliant' West Ham goals
While West Ham have won four times in European competition this season, that form has not been reproduced domestically.
However, a fixture against a Wolves side who have now failed to win in their last eight matches on their travels served up a perfect opportunity for Moyes and his side to remedy some early-season problems.
Craig Dawson's return in defence, alongside Kurt Zouma and the impressive Thilo Kehrer, provided some added steel to deliver a first clean sheet at home since beating Wolves 1-0 in February.
Further up the pitch, Bowen was the perfect foil to Scamacca's power and capped a fine performance, full of elusive running, with a clinical finish as he opened his account in the league this season.
With their Portuguese contingent, Wolves became the first Premier League side to start a match with eight players from the same non-English nationality.
Yet despite creating several promising openings Lage's side only found the target four times from their 15 efforts on goal and none seriously threatened to beat home goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Wolves need strikers - Lage
'No decision has been made on Lage's future' - analysis
BBC Sport's Simon Stone: After one win in 15 Premier League games going back to last season, travelling fans in mutinous mood and their club in the relegation zone - and potentially dropping to second bottom on Monday evening - minds are being focused within the Wolves hierarchy about the future of manager Lage.
Chairman Jeff Shi will be responsible for implementing any decision to sack Lage, with the Portuguese's fate to be decided by Shi and Fosun executives in China.
Sources are stressing no decision has been made yet. But Wolves must decide whether to back Lage to drag the club away from trouble or cut their losses on the 46-year-old former Benfica coach, who replaced Nuno Espirito Santo at the start of last season.
Although it took them some time to bring in the number of players Lage wanted this summer, Wolves have spent heavily, more than £100m, to bring in five senior players.
But they had to move for the out-of-contract Costa after injuries to Jimenez and Kalajdzic, who ruptured his cruciate knee ligaments on his debut, left him without a senior striker.
However, despite this - and the knowledge they will have to take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Saturday without defender Nathan Collins and skipper Neves due to suspension - the feeling is Lage should be getting far more out of his group.
Wolves have scored only three times this season, two less than Nottingham Forest and West Ham, the Premier League's next lowest scorers, and while their approach play is often eye-catching, the impact turns out to be harmless.
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