West Ham ended an exciting December on a resounding low as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat away at Burnley and, while no-one was quite at it, there was one man who played so poorly that it should be his last outing in claret and blue if Manuel Pellegrini wants to avoid progress halting.

On the chalkboard

Having won five of their last six before the trip to Turf Moor, the Hammers were hoping to end 2018 on a high but, instead, they were apathetic in their efforts to best a previously out-of-form Clarets side and thus spurned the chance to go seventh in the standings.

A slew of injuries has meant that Pellegrini's options are significantly depleted so, in Fabian Balbuena's absence, Angelo Ogbonna stepped in alongside Issa Diop at the heart of the defence and was dominated by Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood from the outset.

With nearly £100m spent in the summer, the former Manchester City boss has taken huge steps to change the DNA of the club by bringing in the likes of Felipe Anderson but, arguably, his greatest achievement so far is having been able to get the best out of the players who were already at the club when he arrived, such as Michail Antonio and Declan Rice.

However, unlike Rice and Antonio, Ogbonna seems to have become worse - if Pellegrini wants to continue taking steps forward, he must separate the wheat from the chaff.

Upgrade needed

In Diop and Balbuena, the Irons have a solid defensive partnership that will surely continue to grow but, beyond that, they lack a quality option at centre-half who can step in should either succumb to injury - Ogbonna surely isn't good enough and was a clear weak point in the lineup on Sunday.

Similarly, while most of Pellegrini's summer ins have been transformative, Lucas Perez is one who has not been up to scratch as he carries his poor record at Arsenal over to his new club and the Spaniard is surely on the ropes at the London Stadium.

If afforded the funds, West Ham must look to find significant upgrades on both, but Ogbonna in particular must be banished - the 30-year-old looked completely out of his depth against a team who had lost six of their last seven - unacceptable for a team looking to finally cement themselves as a top half side.

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