West Ham United manager addressed the media ahead of their Premier League clash with Crystal Palace as reported by westham via their their youtube channel, speaking on squad fitness, mentality, and the challenge of sustaining performance levels in the final stretch of the season.
This comes after West Ham held Manchester City to a draw in a hard-fought encounter, while earlier in the campaign they also edged past Brentford in an FA Cup thriller that sparked major social media reactions, as highlighted by SoftFootball.
On squad fitness and availability, the West Ham boss confirmed a rare positive situation:
All the boys are okay. It’s always good for us to have all the options available. It’s a good sign and a reflection of the commitment of the players to prepare themselves really well. So positive for us that all the players are available.
Reflecting on the team’s winning momentum and mentality after recent results, he added:
It’s been good. Working hard, the atmosphere is good, focus getting ready for Monday. After a good performance, it’s positive. It helps in terms of preparation, but we must stay focused on what we have to do.
On avoiding complacency after strong performances, he was clear:
I don’t think there’s a risk. It’s positive after a good performance, but we will make sure we are focused. We have to focus on ourselves; we cannot control what happens at other stadiums.
Speaking on Crystal Palace and their threat, he stressed respect for the opposition:
We know Palace very well. Very good team, very hard to beat. They have a clear idea that brings them success. We are aware of the difficulty we are going to face.
He also reflected on the psychological boost of climbing above the relegation zone:
It’s much better when you see you’ve made a big effort to improve the situation, but nothing has changed really. We still have six games to go, a lot of work to do.
On sustaining performance levels across full matches, he admitted consistency remains the challenge:
We need to sustain our levels of performance, not only for the next game but during the game. That is the big challenge 90 minutes of consistency.
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West Ham’s recent form has shown resilience, including a draw against Manchester City and a dramatic FA Cup victory over Brentford, with Social Media erupting after that contest.
SoftFootball notes that while the team is improving, the manager is demanding higher consistency as they prepare for another crucial test against Crystal Palace.
