Aaron Cresswell says West Ham United need to play without fear when take on Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.
The Hammers travel to the King Power Stadium knowing a positive result is a must if they are to steer clear of the bottom three, and Cresswell believes a positive, assertive performance will go a long way to helping them achieve it.
Having lost 4-1 to Arsenal and Manchester City in their previous two top-flight fixtures, the defender, who scored an outstanding free-kick against the champions last time out, insists David Moyes’ side need to put those results out of their minds and take to the pitch fully believing they can defeat the Foxes.
“We have three games to go and every one of them is massive and certainly we have got to pick up points,” he said. “We can’t be relying on other teams around us to lose games and stuff like that.
“We have had a good week’s training and we’re really focused on the game and we need to win.
“We’ve got good players and a good team, that’s why we’re in the Premier League, and we shouldn’t show our opponents too much respect, because we can get points from any game we play. We weren’t good enough against Manchester City, but we’re looking ahead to Leicester and we can go there, play well and get three points.
We’ve had a couple of terrific away performances and we want to produce another one for them, because they’ve been fantastic on the road
Aaron Cresswell
“Leicester’s results might not have been so good recently, but you can’t say they’re on the beach or anything like that. They’ve still got some good players and they had a player sent-off at Palace last week when it was only 2-0 and red cards change games.
“We’re away from home and it’ll be a tough game, but it’s one we’re looking forward to.”
On top of their own professional ambitions, Cresswell says the Hammers are also determined to put on a show for the Claret and Blue Army in their final away game of a challenging season.
West Ham have won just two of their 18 previous league matches on their travels – at Stoke City and Huddersfield Town – but a third would certainly reward the supporters’ outstanding loyalty and commitment.
“We haven’t been great on the road this season, but they’ve certainly always been there in their numbers and constantly creating atmospheres, wherever they’ve been.
“We’ve had a couple of terrific away performances and we want to produce another one for them, because they’ve been fantastic on the road.”