Swansea City manager Paul Clement has admitted that his side played with "anxiety and fear" in their 1-0 defeat at West Ham United this afternoon.
A fierce strike from Cheikhou Kouyate just before half time was all that separated the two sides on a sunny afternoon at the London Stadium as the Swans extended their winless league run to five games.
The Welsh side are now two points from safety in the Premier League table with just six games of their season remaining, while the Hammers' safety is all but assured as they moved onto 36 points.
"It's a very poor result for us," Clement, who took over at Swansea in January, told BBC Sport. "We didn't deserve anything more than what we got. In the first half we were full of anxiety and fear. It affected our ability to do the basics.
"We made changes in the second half to be more positive, but we lost our identity and shape. It was a scrappy, poor game of football.
"Both teams are struggling. It's a big result for them and they won't care about how they performed. It's not a good afternoon for us. In the second half we gave it more. We were less anxious, but in terms of shape and technical quality, we were not at the level required. We got the ball up there a little bit more after Fernando Llorente came on. We had a couple of half-chances, but we didn't create enough clear-cut chances.
"The only positive we can take is that not much has changed around us. Hull lost at Manchester City. It's still tight with a lot of football to be played."
Next up for Clement's charges is a trip to Watford next Saturday.
Neil Wilkes
