I've seen none of this game at all. I could blame it on the fact that I'm currently painting my bathroom and I was tired, or lay the guilt firmly on the extended 'Last Night of the Proms' coverage that meant that Match of the Day started later than usual but, whatever the reason, the fact is I fell asleep before Paul Scholes was sent off in the Spurs v ManU game and woke just in time to hear Gary Linekear announce '..and now for our last match we travel to Wigan..' (no surprise there then - West Ham must figure in more last match scenarios than any other club!). Despite this fortutious intervention on my sleep pattern though, I then went straight back to sleep again or, if I was awake, then the match was even worse than I feared and I've wiped it from my brain.

Still, no matter; the match reviews here are not supposed to supplant the one you can find elsewhere on Soccernet but rather to add comments to the events. To this then, I think we can firmly add 'not good enough' and 'must do better'.

It may be the fact that the JJB or the Dave Whelan Memorial Stadium (I wish!) or whatever it is called this year, has been something of a happy hunting ground for West Ham over the seasons but I really expected a point or three from this game and the fact is that the Hammers need to pick up points at places like this, if they are to progress.

The season is little more than a month old but it is already looking as if the 'Top Four' has been supplanted by a 'Top Five'; there's even a possibility of a six or seven if Spurs and Aston Villa continue their early season form. This makes the whole mid to lower table area a minefield and West Ham need to firmly set their mind on making sure they dominate that area in order to stay in touch with the pack. It pains me to say it but the top third of the table is already looking like it is set-fair for the season and we've got some difficult games coming up.

I've been watching football long enough to know a good run can turn your season around - West Ham had one just after Christmas last season - but Gianfranco and Clarke need to work quickly on blending together the experienced players with the new boys and the youngsters to get the best from this squad. OK I'm going back to sleep now...