Michael Laudrup sounded like a beaten man maybe in more ways than one after his team were beaten 2-0 at West Ham to see the chasing pack closing the gap on them as the Premier League heads for one of the closest relegation battles for years.

Two first half goals from Kevin Nolan were enough to see the Swans beaten and even Andy Carroll's red card made little difference to the Swans who mustered twenty shots at goal according to the BBC statistics but not a single one of them was on target.

Most of those attempts on goal seemed to be blocked at best and Adrian in the West Ham goal had one of his easier afternoons as the home team lifted themselves out of the relegation zone at least for a few hours following the game.

Speaking to the BBC after the game, Laudrup said "In the first half we knew West Ham would play very direct. We talked alot about it and the first goal came just from a long ball into the box which is a little frustrating. The second was more so because it was in injury time.

"We had moments in the first half with Bony one on one and Jonjo just wide. West Ham defended well inside the box as they did against Chelsea and although we had alot of crosses they defended well.

"We didn't create much today. I think the last two games we have done so much to get back on track and I have to agree that today was disappointing and there isn't much to add."

Chico Flores came under criticism from home manager Sam Allardyce following the incident that saw Carroll sent off and whilst Laudrup was not prepared to criticise his player directly he did concede that the red card was a little harsh as he added "I have to say that for the sending off the decision was a bit harsh. There was contact but only like you do alot of times. The referee clearly had no doubt but I think it was harsh - there was contact but not for a red card."

Laudrup will now look to pick his side up head of next week's South Wales derby against Cardiff where a performance lifted a few notches will be needed to reduce those relegation fears once more.

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