Stewart Downing thinks West Ham could be in the top six if they had not dropped late points

Stewart Downing says the concession of late goals has been a major problem for West Ham this season.

And Downing thinks the club could have been in contention for a top six berth, were it not for the late lapses.

The England international put the Hammers in front against Everton on Saturday but they ended up losing 2-1, Romelu Lukaku scoring his sixth goal in six games against the London club to win it in stoppage time.

It was the fifth time since February the Hammers have conceded in the final five minutes to drop points, Manchester United, Tottenham and Stoke having snatched late draws while Leicester, like Everton, bagged a winner in the closing stages.

And Downing told the West Ham website: “Maybe we've been getting a bit nervy in the last few minutes of games.

"When you've been conceding late it could be on people's minds, but you've got to block that out.

"In the first half of the season we were ruthless, but conceding late in games has cost us.

"With the points we've dropped, we could have been in the top six.

"If we eradicate those mistakes, individually and as a team, and with the addition of a few more quality players, we can be a European place team. We're not far away."

West Ham could still be in Europe next season, but that depends on the fair play standings after next Sunday's match at Newcastle

Downing thought West Ham’s overall performance at Upton Park on Saturday was reasonable.

“I think we had a generally good game,” he said. “We created a few chances, took the lead deservedly, and then they’ve equalised against the run of play.

“The goals we’ve conceded are disappointing. As a team we didn’t defend them properly and we wanted to finish here on a winning note, so that is disappointing.”