Kevin Nolan spells out the ugly truth to West Ham

Former West Ham midfielder Lee Bowyer scored in the 88th minute, the third time in five home matches Sam Allardyce's side have conceded a late goal, as they lost 1-0 to Ipswich. Nolan, made captain after his summer move from Newcastle, accepted the criticism from the fans.

"They had the right to boo us off at the end of the game because that simply wasn't good enough," said the 29-year-old former Bolton and Newcastle star.

"We can't hide from the fact that it was a very disappointing goal to give away. There's a lot of experience in our team and we can't concede sloppy goals like that no matter what division you're in.

"We haven't performed as players, as a team. We would have been quite lucky to have come away with a point but we haven't.

"To be honest I'm not happy with my own form but it's been quite difficult, I' ve moved to a city where I never thought I would live and I have my family.

"At the end of the day though, I know I have to start playing and lift my game and when we're not playing well, I'm my worst critic. I'm not happy but I think I can still add something to the team.

"If you asked all the players if they were happy with their form every one of them would probably say 'no' but we will improve."

West Ham's midfield, of which Nolan was just one ineffective member, was completely outplayed by Ipswich, for whom another ex-Hammer, Jimmy Bullard, was chief playmaker.

Allardyce changed the system to accommodate striker Sam Baldock on his debut but soon reverted to his favoured 4-3-3 midway through a first half dominated by the away team.

Things improved after the break but Ipswich goalkeeper David Stockdale was never tested while Robert Green was finally beaten when Keith Andrews headed against an upright from a corner and Bowyer fired home the loose ball.

"We've had one of those nights and when that happens you have to grind out a result," said Nolan. "The fact we didn't do that is the most disappointing part. You're not going to play well in every game because teams enjoy coming to Upton Park - it's a fantastic stadium and the pressure is on us.

"We're still coming together as a team though and we'll pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and be ready for another game in four days time, which is fortunate for us because we can get this out of our system.

"Fair play to Ipswich because they did really well but as a team we will sit down, have our moans and groans but we all have to big enough, brave enough, ugly enough to be able to say that we weren't good enough.

"We can't feel sorry for ourselves because, if we do that, we're not going to achieve what we want which is automatic promotion.

"If we can't have that then it's the play-offs but we've got to go up this year. That's our ultimate goal and none of us have shied away from saying that.

"I wish I could put my finger on why we've conceded late goals in three home matches. The worst aspect was that came from a set-piece and there's enough experience in our team to have avoided that. "

Nolan has experienced a similar situation at Newcastle, who went back up to the Premier League at the first attempt. "When we got relegated the club were in a lot worse state than West Ham," he said. "We know here at West Ham that we have to come together in the same way. We're still learning because we've only had around 12 weeks together and nine proper games."

Like his captain, Allardyce was also far from happy with the late goal. He said: "I thought we had learned our lesson but clearly we hadn't. I keep telling the players to respect the point and how important it is. It would have been a good point for us because we weren't at our best, especially in the first half.

"That glitch in our play has cropped up again and the fans will be saying 'here we go again - Cardiff, Leeds United and now Ipswich'.

"I know it's early in the season and this is a new team but that shouldn't stop you being organised and professional in the final minutes of the game because most of the people in our dressing-room have seen it all before, at a higher level than this."