Dimitri Payet blasts 'negative' West Ham United

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 10 March 2017

Marseille attacker Dimitri Payet says that he forced a move away from West Ham United in January because he was "bored" of the team's negative football.

Dimitri Payet has claimed that he forced a move away from West Ham United in the January transfer window because he was "bored" of the team's negative brand of football.

Payet re-joined Marseille at the end of the winter window after informing Hammers boss Slaven Bilic that he was no longer prepared to represent the London club.

The France international has now hit out at his former club, claiming that he "risked regressing" at the London Stadium and decided to seek pastures new for the sake of his career.

"The way we played, the defensive system we used, didn't please me," Payet told L'Equipe. "You could say I was bored. I had had contact with Marseille and most notably with [Marseille coach] Rudi Garcia, who had a philosophy that I knew well.

"The choice was quick. If I waited six months I would lose six months. With West Ham at home against Hull, we won 1-0 and they hit the post four times, In the changing room everyone was happy, but the the man of the match that day was the post.

"I thought that I would not have room for improvement. On the contrary, I risked regressing. I need another challenge."

Payet departed West Ham less than 12 months after signing a new five-and-a-half-year deal with the Hammers.