Manuel Pellegrini Bemused by 'Difficult' Second Half as West Ham Suffer Heavy Defeat at Molineux

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini admitted he found it hard to comprehend West Ham's second half performance after their 3-0 loss at Wolves on Tuesday night.

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini admitted he found it hard to comprehend West Ham's second half performance after their 3-0 loss at Wolves on Tuesday night.

Despite holding out until the hour mark, three goals in the space of 25 minutes, including a double from Raul Jimenez handed the Hammers a third defeat in their last four fixtures in all competitions.

Wolves take the win. pic.twitter.com/QL10XpOasX

— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 29, 2019

After crashing out of the FA Cup to Wimbledon at the weekend, the London outfit conceded a seventh goal in just two games - leaving the Chilean to lament West Ham's defensive fragilities.

"I think in the first half, it was very close,” speaking post match via West Ham'sofficial website. It was a very tight game for both teams. 

"But in the second half, we were a team that was uprooted out of the game. We conceded two goals from set pieces and we conceded three goals. They had other clear chances so really it’s difficult to understand why we are playing in this way.

Clive Mason/GettyImages

"Maybe sometimes you can be a not very creative team, but you defend well, but we defended very badly also. We conceded two goals from set pieces, which decided the game."

At the other end, the Iron failed muster a single shot on target on Marko Arnautovic's return from a whirlwind transfer window, that ended in the forward signing a contract extension. The Austrian was forced off injured late on, adding to the growing list of absentees at the club. 

However, with a quick turnaround in fixtures, that starts with Liverpool a week on Monday, Pellegrini called on an immediate improvement to return to winning ways - amid problems on and off the field.

Chicha is on for Arnie. #WOLWHU 1-0 (76) pic.twitter.com/ZaHlHCrYyv

— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 29, 2019

He added: "There are a lot of reasons we must consider and we must study. We must know why we have been playing so bad in the last two weeks, after we beat Arsenal. 

"Maybe it’s too many games with the same players. We have so many players injured, so it’s difficult to find solutions. But we must concentrate if we are to improve."