Clarke - We need to turn corner

Steve Clarke said West Ham need to turn the corner quickly after the Hammers gifted Bolton a 3-1 victory at the Reebok Stadium to plunge further in the relegation mire.

Lee Chung-Yong gave the Trotters the lead in the 64th minute but Alessandro Diamanti replied with a great strike five minutes later.

However, England keeper Robert Green then could not hold an easy catch from Gary Cahill's bouncing effort and Ivan Klasnic slotted home from close range on 77 minutes.

Cahill then added the crucial third with two minutes remaining when rising unchallenged to head home Ricardo Gardner's corner.

The result left the Hammers second from bottom, while their night was compounded with injury-plagued midfielder Kieron Dyer having to be substituted with a hamstring problem

We're not stupid, we know the position we're in, we're realistic about it and we're working as hard as we can to turn things around."

Clarke refused to blame Green for the defeat.

"It's a little bit like what has been happening to us this season, there has been a few mistakes throughout the season, not just from Robert but from other people," said Clarke.

"Mistakes, they're part and parcel of the game. Obviously when your confidence is low and Robert makes a mistake - he didn't mean to make it, it's a mistake, it happens in football - you have to try and bounce back from it.

Unfortunately tonight it was too late for us to recover but we have to try and recover in the next game."

Regarding Dyer's substitution, he said: "We're disappointed for Kieron because he has worked ever so hard to get himself in a position where he could start a game.

"Early in the game he felt another little pull in the hamstring so he came off before he made it too bad so hopefully he won't be out too long.

"But these things are sent to try us - you have to rise above them, you have to work harder and if you work harder then we feel that we have got the players and the ability to get out of the position we're in. But we have to start turning the corner very quickly."