West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice has warned relegation rivals Leeds United that playing against Brighton is 'demoralising' after the Irons were thrashed 4-0 over the weekend.
The Seagulls demolished the Irons at the Amex Stadium on Saturday, with goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Joel Veltman, Kaoru Mitoma, and Danny Welbeck leaving David Moyes' side just a point in front of Leeds in 16th.
But with the Whites facing Roberto De Zerbi's side on Saturday, Rice has told Javi Gracia's side that they could face 'a setback' much like the Irons did over the weekend.
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"We were beaten by a better team," the England international admitted to Sky Sports after the defeat. "Brighton played us off the pitch and made life difficult. But that wasn't a performance that was acceptable.
"Days like today you have to apologise to the fans as we've let the fans and the club down. I'm hurting. The lads are hurting. We thought we'd turned a corner as we've been playing better, winning 4-0 and then playing well in the cup. But this is a real setback.
"They have a unique way of playing and we didn't work it out. To be out there was demoralising to be honest with you. To try and defend, seeing them keep the ball. I got a yellow card, could have got another one. I never want to feel like that on a football pitch.
"I'd never step on the pitch and allow the opposition to have more passion than me and it's the same for the others. We're wearing the shirt of West Ham and the one thing that matters is fighting for the badge.
"Maybe it didn't look like we did as we lost 4-0 but I can assure you we tried as best as we could but we were beaten by the better team."
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