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Speaking ahead of West Ham United's match against Burnley, Manuel Pellegrini has stated that his side needs to improve when it comes to defending set-pieces, as reported by the club's official channels.

What did he say?

With the Hammers on a six-game winless run in all competitions, Pellegrini admitted that the team is in a bad patch of form.

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While he refused to call out any individual, he did suggest that there is one big issue that needs to be addressed in order to help start an upturn in results: "As a team, I think that we need to improve, especially at set-pieces. They have been decisive in us not having the wins that we’ve wanted.

"Against Newcastle, we lost three goals to set-pieces, against Crystal Palace they scored two goals from set-pieces, and against Bournemouth they scored off set-pieces, so that’s a thing we must improve as a team."

Must be addressed

This is an issue that needs to be quickly dealt with, as only Aston Villa and Everton have conceded from more set-pieces than the 5 occasions West Ham have done this season.

The particular issue at hand means that the clash against Burnley is far from ideal due to their aerial threat in the box, as can be signified by the fact that Chris Wood alone has scored three headed goals this campaign.

Lukasz Fabianski's absence can be seen as playing a part in the current record, due to the fact that Roberto is less dominant when the ball is in the air, as shown by the first two goals Newcastle scored during the Hammers' 3-2 loss last weekend.

However, it can be said that the players in front of him also aren't doing enough, with men in black and white winning two headers with relative ease for Ciaran Clark's opener in that game.

The players simply must show more of a desire to attack the ball when defending set-pieces if the situation is going to improve.