West Ham's recent dip in form has coincided with a poor run in front of goal for Michail Antonio who has only managed two in his last 17 Premier League matches.
Antonio's struggles have been somewhat masked by Jarrod Bowen stepping up to the plate with 15 goal contributions in that time, however getting the Jamaican back to his best is key for West Ham to continue their European push.
Former Hammer Nigel Winterburn believes that despite Bowen's contributions to the team, other West Ham players need to chip in and alleviate some of the pressure on Antonio.
"You always want your main centre-forward scoring goals. I've spoken about it before with Arsenal and their issues scoring goals, a lot of clubs have this issue where you're looking for 20+ goals a season in the Premier League from the striker," Winterburn told FreeSuperTips.
"If you're not getting that, then the players around your main striker have got to get a considerable amount of goals as well. West Ham are having that issue, Jarred Bowen is doing very well, but they need goals from other positions in the front areas."
Antonio only has three assists in his last 22 Premier League appearances, but despite this and his poor form in front of goal Winterburn believes the striker is still contributing to the side.
"Antonio's whole game isn't too bad, he still contributes to the side with his work ethic, but he also needs to find his scoring touch again," he added.
"That's what you need when you're chasing the big teams, a lot of all-round goals rather than just relying on the striker."
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With FA Cup and Europa League football set to return next month, West Ham have three competitions to fight for and the return of goals to Anotnio's game cannot come soon enough. Hammers manager David Moyes believes he is seeing sparks of life from his striker despite the goal drought.
"I am just beginning to see little bits which are giving us encouragement he's getting back," Moyes said.
"I don't think it'll be too long before he's back on the scoresheet."
