West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola reflected on a "very, very painful" defeat and insisted on shouldering all the blame himself. The West Ham supporters chanted "you're not fit to wear the shirt" as the final whistle approached but Zola urged them to direct any anger and frustration towards him.
"I think that chant is a little unfair because the players they tried everything," said Zola. "The players did their best but in a disjointed way and it made it very difficult for us. They played as individuals.
"That is very, very painful for me because it is my duty to correct it. The team is not playing very well and I take responsibility for that.
"If (the fans) want to pick up on somebody they must pick up on me because I am responsible.
"If they want to chant something they must chant about me. They have to leave the players because they belong to West Ham, they are working for West Ham and they are committed to West Ham.
"If they want to pick up on somebody they must pick up on me.
"Last year when we were playing well, I was getting compliments. I took the compliments, I can take the criticism as well. But they should leave the players.
"My concern is the team and I have to make sure they react in the right way. I have a long night in front of me to think about that."
Mick McCarthy hailed Wolves' 3-1 victory over relegation rivals West Ham as "vital" to their Barclays Premier League survival bid.
Kevin Doyle set Wolves on their way before Ronald Zubar and Matthew Jarvis struck inside three second-half minutes to lift Mick McCarthy's side seven points clear of the drop zone.
Guillermo Franco came off the bench to score in injury time for West Ham but it was the hollowest of consolation goals. Wolves had deserved their victory.
McCarthy said: "We have not sewn anything up yet but we have gone a long way towards helping out.
"The scoreline didn't flatter us. We played very well tonight and deserved that victory. I don't think anyone could disagree with that."