Kurt Zouma ‘feeling the public pressure’ after West Ham news confirmed – pundit
West Ham defender Kurt Zouma is “feeling the public pressure”, according to Paul Robinson.
The former Spurs and England goalkeeper, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed the coming weeks are “going to be a big test” of the 27-year-old’s mental strength.
Zouma has been under severe public scrutiny after a video emerged of him abusing a cat, which has now been confiscated, last week.
West Ham manager David Moyes has decided not to drop the centre-half despite public pressure and included him in his initial starting XI’s against Watford and Leicester City.
However, Zouma pulled out of the team that drew at Leicester City during the warm up.
As quoted by The Times (14 February), Moyes insisted the decision was because of illness and not previous events.
When asked by Football Insider for his assessment of the news, Robinson said: “I think Zouma is feeling the public pressure and it’s going to be a big test of his mental strength.
“What he has done is disgusting, inexcusable and inexplicable but there has to be a timeline for it.
“There should have been some kind of ban as well as a fine from the club. There needs to be a punishment put in place. He needs to pay his fine and do his time and then after that there is a level of forgiveness.
“You cannot punish somebody for the rest of their life for one mistake they’ve made. There has to be some kind of common sense put in place. The punishment needs to fit the crime. At some point there has to be a level of forgiveness like with everything in life.
“We all make mistakes, whether they be small, medium or large. It’s ridiculous to say he should never play football again. You cannot punish somebody for the rest of their life.”
In other news, a former manager has claimed ‘West Ham need to pull out all the stops’ after contract talks update.