West Ham United's James Collins pleased to 'stop the rot'

West Ham United defender James Collins has said that his team were pleased to 'stop the rot' as the Hammers drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Slaven Bilic's side were heading for their sixth league defeat of the season when Christian Stuani scored early in the second period, but Dimitri Payet levelled six minutes later as the points were shared at the London Stadium.

Collins has called the result "a step in the right direction", but admits that his team need to improve in the coming weeks if they are to move out of the relegation zone in the Premier League table.

"It stops the rot and is a step in the right direction. We needed that point. It was a great goal by Dimitri Payet but we can't depend on him. We need to be better defensively and better going forward," Collins told BBC Sport.

Next up for West Ham is a trip to Crystal Palace after the international break.