Alan Hutton has admitted Michail Antonio “didn’t look up for the fight” after making his return for West Ham against Aston Villa on Monday.
The former Villa and Scotland star, speaking exclusively to Football Insider assistant editor Russell Edge, insisted the 30-year-old did not look right from the first minute and suggested that he had been put in the starting XI too soon after his hamstring injury.
Antonio lasted 45 minutes in the Hammers’ 2-1 win before he was hooked at half-time for Sebastien Haller.
The Irons’ talisman missed three games with a muscle injury and the French forward had taken his place in the starting XI.
Hutton admitted David Moyes’ decision to throw Antonio back into the line-up had backfired and that it was clear the former Nottingham Forest star was still a long way off the pace following his recent layoff.
Hutton told Football Insider: “From the word go I thought Antonio didn’t look right – fair play to David Moyes, he recognised that early on.
