Manuel Pellegrini admitted that his side did not deserve anything out of their 2-0 loss to Everton in the Premier League on Saturday.

A goal in each half, the first from Bernard and the second a Gylfi Sigurdsson screamer, secured the win for Marco Silva’s side, and Pellegrini was open to the fact that the hosts worked much harder for their much-needed win.

Speaking to the club website, he said: “I’m disappointed because I think we didn’t have a good performance. We knew before the game that it was a very tough game in a difficult stadium and the position of Everton reflected how much they needed these points. They ran and they fought for the 95 minutes and they deserved the win.

“If I remember the last game we played here in this stadium, we came in the same position as Everton were before the game, losing four games in a row, so that is something that allowed them to demand more from their players and that’s what they did.

“When you are in the situation that Everton found themselves in, maybe you have more energy. In this same stadium, we came to play them after four defeats, and we beat them 3-1. It seems our team ran double them, but today was different and they ran as if every ball was the last one of their lives and we couldn’t be able to try to play in a different way and find the same level as them.”

In-form winger Andriy Yarmolenko was left on the bench by Pellegrini, with the boss citing the Ukrainian’s recent long-term injury and the fact he was in action for his country over the international break.

However, the Chilean refused to blame Yarmolenko’s absence for the side’s poor performance and eventual loss.

He said: “I think it was not good for Andriy to play three games in a week after being injured for so long. He played two games for his national squad, so we kept him on the bench for the first 45 minutes, but I don’t think that was the only reason we lost this game.”

Fortunately for the Hammers, they now have two home games in a row to try and get things back on track as they welcome Sheffield United and Newcastle United to the London Stadium over the coming weeks, and Pellegrini is hopeful that his side’s good form on home turf can be continued.

He said: “As I spoke with the players, the result we are missing is the result against Crystal Palace at home. The result against Everton you can lose the game because it is always a very difficult stadium to win points at, but I was not happy with the performance more than I was not happy with the score.

“Now, we have to play two games at home, and I hope we can recover the same level of performance as before and get the victories.”