West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen had to be restrained from his own fans after 3-2 defeat to Wolves in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night as their nightmare start to the season continues.
It was another frustrating game for Graham Potter’s side, which saw them concede the first goal just before half-time to Rodrigo Gomes.
Goals from Tomas Soucek and Lucas Pacqueta put the Hammers ahead just after the hour-mark but there were two late goals from Jorgen Strand Larsen to see Wolves progress.
That makes it three defeats from three games at the start of the season for West Ham, having lost heavily to Sunderland and Chelsea in the Premier League already.
The pressure is already beginning to tell as tensions mounted at the end of the game between Hammers captain Bowen and travelling fans at Molineux.
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West Ham players were applauding the disappointed fans but something angered Bowen and he was restrained by Soucek, Alphonse Areola and stewards as he approached the supporters.
He turned and walked back onto the pitch, pulling off the captain’s armband as he did so.
The Hammers captain spoke out on the incident on social media later in the evening, writing on Instagram: ‘Apologies to the fans for tonight’s reaction.
‘I’m someone who is passionate and will fight ever time I step on the pitch. But I need to set a better example and you fans know how much I love you and this club!
‘We ride through the bad times together and I’ll see you all Sunday.’
West Ham will look to improve on their poor start to the campaign when they travel to take on Nottingham Forest on Sunday in the Premier League.
The international break follows, with a home game against Tottenham on their return on September 13.
Only Potter’s side and their opponents on Tuesday night are yet to pick up a point in the top flight, although clearly it is still very early in the campaign.
The Hammers have conceded 11 goals in their three outings so far, losing 3-0 at Sunderland and 5-1 at home to Chelsea before Tuesday’s trip to Wolverhampton.
Potter joined West ham in January and won just five of the 18 Premier League games he took charge of over the rest of last season.
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