West Ham manager Slaven Bilic says he is “not worried” but is “realistic” about his future after the Hammers lost 3-0 to Brighton at London Stadium.
The home fans booed throughout and thousands left the ground early following Brighton’s third goal, which sealed the visitors’ first away win of the season.
West Ham slipped to 17th in the table and will drop into the relegation zone if Leicester beat Swansea on Saturday.
“The speculation was here before,” said Bilic.
“I’m manager of the team. I don’t want to hide behind anything. It’s my responsibility and it’s up to the board.”
Brighton took the lead after 10 minutes when the unmarked Glenn Murray headed in Pascal Gross’ free-kick.
Moments before the break Jose Izquierdo curled past Joe Hart from distance, despite the England goalkeeper getting a strong hand to the ball.
Murray added his second from the penalty spot in the 75th minute after he was fouled by Pablo Zabaleta.
Although they dominated possession, West Ham had only two shots on target, long-range efforts from Pedro Obiang and Manuel Lanzini.
Chris Hughton’s Brighton, who were brilliant throughout, climbed to 10th in the table.
‘Final nail in the coffin for Bilic’
After losing their first three games of the season, resulting in calls for Bilic to be sacked, West Ham claimed eight points from their next five matches.
However, before the Palace game, Bilic talked of possible “hurricanes” if results went badly, and he can expect to come under more scrutiny after his side’s awful display.
Former England midfielder and BBC Radio 5 live pundit Jermaine Jenas said the Hammers were “embarrassed” by their opponents and that the performance felt like the “final nail in the coffin” for Bilic.
He added: “I felt like Slaven Bilic ran out of ideas a little bit. He looked dejected on the sideline. It felt like a tough moment.”
The crowd grew more restless throughout as passes were misplaced, crosses failed to find a team-mate – West Ham attempted 33 – and shots went high and wide.
The marking for Murray’s opening goal from 10 yards was non-existent, while Hart will be questioned for palming Izquierdo’s strike into the net as he dived to his left.
“He has got that much of his hand on the ball that he has got to save it,” said Jenas.