West Ham United's co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan have issued a joint statement following the side's poor start to the season.

After an impressive seventh-place finish last term and a move to the Olympic Stadium over the summer, Slaven Bilic's side have lost five of their first six games and sit 18th in the primitive Premier League table.

Reports today have suggested that Bilic could be replaced by former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini, but in a statement, Gold and Sullivan appeared to give a vote of confidence to the manager.

"There is no question that this has not been the start to the season that we were looking for but rest assured we are doing everything we can to fix the situation," they wrote. "The facts are there for everyone to see. We know we are letting in too many goals and not scoring enough, but be assured we will sort the problems out.

"There have been factors which have contributed to the poor start with injuries to key players and some key decisions which have gone against us. But we are not going to make excuses and know that Slaven and his team will be working even harder on the training ground this week to get things right. We have got to remain positive. These are the same players that helped us enjoy such a memorable final season at the Boleyn Ground.

"We know this is a difficult time for our supporters at the moment but we want to thank you personally and wholeheartedly for staying with the club. We will turn our season around."

The Hammers take a trip across London to face Crystal Palace when Premier League action resumes this weekend.