"Our passing and movement was of the highest quality in the first half and West Ham could not live with it. But in the second half our passing was ordinary.
"For Robert Earnshaw to score two goals for the second game in succession and still not be on the winning side was disappointing. And to concede so many second-half goals in our last three matches is a concern.
"It's bizarre to play so well before half-time against Reading, Sheffield United and West Ham - and lose.
"The penalty, which pulled them back from 2-0 to 2-1 just before half-time, gave West Ham momentum and hope. It was a turning point.
"But I can't hang on to that as an excuse. It's not all doom and gloom. Once more there were a lot of good things about this performance, but we are letting in too many goals.
"I'll be studying the match videos and working out why we get forced too deep at times. I'll look at the distance between the back four and midfield players - in fact anything which could be making a difference."
Robert Earnshaw (BBC)
"We've had some back luck really - penalties and deflected shots going in.
"Hopefully the luck will turn soon and we can get back on track. But we played well against West Ham.
"The first half was better than the second, but we still did well and worked hard.
"It was a mixed night for me, the same as Saturday was where I've scored a couple of goals but we still lost.
"We're going to have to try again and pick ourselves up.
"I thought their penalty was the turning point from where I was standing I didn't think it was a foul but it was perfect timing for them to get back into the game.
"We let them play too much in the second half and we could have been a little bit better in that respect."
Trevor Brooking (South Wales Echo)
"Robert Earnshaw might have been the catalyst for Jermaine's hat-trick. Seeing him score two goals made him think 'I want a bit of that.'
"He had his moment at Gillingham and we had a chat about that. He is a big player in this division and he will be a target for opposing fans and players.
"He has to deal with it and I told him that. His response, his attitude tonight, was spot on."
"We conceded a soft first goal and then Robert Earnshaw scored a terrific goal - it was a fantastic strike. We could have wilted, but the penalty just before half-time gave us the momentum we needed.
"As for Cardiff City, they are still learning in Division One after promotion, but they've made a decent start and I give them a good chance of making the play-offs.
"They've conceded a few goals too many and that's one of the reasons we went with three strikers. We had to get at them.
"Cardiff have potential to be a Premiership club and they have already made good progress towards that aim."