"Im trying to be captain in the best way that I know possible every day."West Ham Captain Jarrod Bowen
In a message posted in the wee hours of Sunday morning before West Ham are to take on Queens Park Rangers in a FA Cup match, team captain Jarrod Bowen pens a letter to fans. In it Bowen admits he hasn't been at his best this season and that the team need to keep fighting. Bown goes on to profess his love for the team and the fans. Bowen took the opportunity and put the entire onus on himself and teamates. He made no mention of of manager Nuno Espírito Santo or the ownership group.
Read the letter in its entirety below:
Hello everyone,
We will step out onto the pitch against Queen Park Rangers in the FA Cup third round on Sunday and give everything we can to get back to winning ways and get us through to the next round of this historic competition.
Then, our focus returns to the Premier League and getting points on the board and getting out of trouble.
If we give up, then there's no chance in the world and that's got to be the mindset. I know it hasn't been good enough, nowhere near good enough this season, and we're in the position that we're in that shows that.
It's been a collective of different things. I don't think it's the effort, I don't think it's the work, I think we're a team that works hard and wants to do well, but ultimately I don't think we've been in the best form individually and as a team and we've been punished for that.
We're seven points adrift going into the second half of the season and we know the situation at stake, we know what we have to do and we have to do it, we have to continue being a team that fights for every single minute that we're on the pitch.
We have to keep fighting and we have to keep going out there to win games, that's the only way it's going to change.
Every single game now, we've got to treat it as almost like a derby and even if you're individually not playing well, not having your best game, I think it's important that for the team's sake everyone's got to fight for every single ball.
That's going to be the only way that changes it and that's going to get everyone back cheering for us and in good spirits. That's the only way I know.
We have an FA Cup tie on Sunday and it's an important competition for us. Of course, we want to win in the Premier League but we also want to do well in the Cup. You draw confidence from good performances and good results and we have to go into this game and win it.
When you win a game it can certainly change the mood and then you go into a run of games where you've got that win under your belt and mentally it does something for you. It gives you that little bit of confidence and you can play with more freedom.
There will be a lot of kids here on Sunday attending their first game and it’s something they’ll never forget. When I was little growing up in Hereford, it was a pound to get in for under-16s and I loved going along to games and having that experience.
We’ve welcomed two new lads into the group in Taty and Pablo and they’ll help us. They’re strikers and have scored goals and it's important for us to help them flourish, help them go out there and play their game.
For me personally, it's been tough because for the last couple of years we haven't been in a position where we probably want to be.
It’s a big honour being captain of this Club – a Club I love and have done my best for since I joined nearly six years ago.
I’m a human being and I’m going to make mistakes and do things people don’t agree with, but I’m big enough to take the criticism on the chin. I’m certainly asking myself questions and it’s up to me to figure things out.
I know that I haven't played to my level that I know I can and I don’t deserve any special treatment.
I'm trying to be captain in the best way that I know possible every day.
I’m never going to begrudge fans their opinions because they are part of football and fans have been supporting this Club longer than I’ve been alive.
We're in a very privileged position to be in the Premier League so, for me, I'm just going to keep trying to improve my form, keep trying to help the team as much as I can, be the best captain that I know I can be and do everything I can to bring the good times back.
I like to think I am an honest, hard-working person and I can only apologise for our current situation and work hard to improve it.
It's down to me and it’s down to us as players to do that.
Come on you Irons!
Jarrod