Although West Ham United ended the Premier League season with a win, their departure from England’s top flight was ultimately sealed. Key player Jarrod Bowen spoke emotionally after the match and addressed the reasons for the relegation.
West Ham United had spent a full 14 consecutive seasons in the Premier League; by late Sunday afternoon, the Londoners knew for certain that a 15th would not follow. Despite a commanding 3-0 home win against Leeds, the Hammers must face relegation to the second tier, as direct rival Tottenham secured three points against Everton at the same time, thereby maintaining their two-point lead over the Hammers.
Bowen: “A terrible situation”
Jarrod Bowen was particularly dejected after the final whistle, as he made clear in an interview with Sky: “I’m just disappointed. This is a terrible situation. Relegation—for a club like this—hurts. We did enough today, but over the course of the entire season, we simply didn’t do enough to get the necessary points.” You could point to many things, but ultimately it comes down to the players consistently delivering good performances.
Consistency was a major issue for the Londoners, who failed to win 28 of their 38 games (19 losses) this season. They failed to turn things around after a disastrous start to the season; instead, the Hammers found themselves in the relegation zone from the very beginning.
Bowen, who joined the Hammers from Hull City in the winter of 2020, saw parallels to the previous season—albeit with one crucial difference: “Last season we were in a similar situation, but we managed to fight our way out of it. This year, we couldn’t fight our way out. Over the last two seasons, we were well below par. This season, we weren’t good enough and paid the ultimate price for it,” continued the winger, who scored the second goal of the afternoon in the season finale—bringing his total to nine goals and assists for the season. “Ultimately, we didn’t do enough to fight for results. We were leading in games and dropped points. I think the fighting spirit was there, but we weren’t consistent enough to pick up points.”
And his personal future? “I’m under contract here. There will be rumors, there will be talk, but ultimately, my focus is on getting this club back into the Premier League, because that’s where it belongs,” the 30-year-old declared his commitment to West Ham. He has experienced some great moments at the club, and his goal right now is “to get this club back into the Premier League.”