West Ham United defender Jose Fonte has refused to slam his side's effort level in a 3-0 home defeat against Brighton, but does believe the Hammers should not be near the bottom of the Premier League standings.
Brighton took the lead at the London Stadium with only ten minutes on the clock after a free kick from Pascal Gross found the head of Glenn Murray, whose header beat Joe Hart.
It was 2-0 in first half stoppage time after a superb curling effort from Jose Izquierdo was too good for Hart, who got a hand to the ball but could not keep out the long-range shot.
West Ham's struggles continued in the second half, with Brighton moving to control the game and adding a third through Murray, who scored in the 75th minute from the penalty spot after Pablo Zabaleta committed a foul.
The London Stadium emptied of West Ham fans and those that did remain booed at the final whistle as it ended 3-0.
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For Fonte, West Ham's players must take a long hard look in the mirror, though he is unwilling to say their efforts were unacceptable as he feels they gave their all.
"We need to look at ourselves in the mirror. This happened a few times last season", Fonte told Sky Sports.
"We have to put this right. We are West Ham and it's just not possible.
"It's disappointing. It's a night to look at and learn from.
"I won't say it's unacceptable. The players tried hard. We tried the best we could, but sometimes it doesn't go your way."
And the centre-back, who feels West Ham have a superbly talented squad, thinks the Hammers should be higher up in the Premier League table; they are currently 17th.
"We have an unbelievable squad and should not be in this position", he added.
Next up for West Ham is a break from Premier League duty as they head to Tottenham Hotspur for an EFL Cup tie on Wednesday night.
