West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic, stated there wasn't any excuses for his side's poor start in their third consecutive league defeat with the 3-2 loss to a rejuvenated Leicester City.

Can't afford to do it

The Hammers went into this clash desperate for a return to form, having gone four games without victory going into this clash which was topped by the previous Saturday's 3-2 defeat to AFC Bournemouth.

However they well hung out to dry in the first period by Craig Shakespeare's side, going two up inside seven minutes with goals from Riyad Mahrez and Robert Huth before Jamie Vardy added another after Manuel Lanzini had pulled one back.

The home side improved vastly in the second period with Andre Ayew getting their second but it wasn't enough, and Bilic stated that his side can't afford to capitulate so early into the contest.

"We shouldn't be two or three down in the first ten minutes," Bilic conceded to whufc.com. "We knew before the game and it is no secret that they are really good on set-pieces."

"In this league," the coach admitted to the club's website. "You cannot afford to concede two goals in the first six or eight minutes."

"In the second half, we played really well," the Croatian stated. "Maybe the last half an hour was one of our best performances this season."

"We did everything but the ball just didn't want to go in," he added. "During a couple of moments, they have Kasper Schmeichel who is in great form anyway."

Take stock of the campaign

It has been a topsy turvy season for Bilic's men, and when it looked like that the side were back on the rise they have been struck this poor run of form with three losses and two draws in the last five.

A handful of the 48-year-old's players will now be off on international duty before the final ten games of the campaign, and Bilic stated the importance of the upcoming break.

"We can now [take stock of the season]," he said in reference to the international break. "Our last three results were not bad because of the previous results before these three, we are still in an OK position."

"It is good to have a break now to come together and rest a bit," Bilic concluded. "To train hard and be ready for the remainder of the season."