Seb: I Can't Wait

Sebastien Schemmel says he and his colleagues will stand up and be counted against Southampton on Monday as the Hammers go in search of that elusive first home win of the season.

"The fans are fantastic, it is a big club, and we will not stay down there at the bottom," he says. "By Christmas we want to be in mid-table and we will be working hard to do that.

"There are 35,000 crazy fans at Upton Park every week and it is not possible to carry on in this way.

"It is maybe the most important Monday in the history of West Ham United and I want to take my responsibility, and get us back up the table as soon as possible."

Victory would spare Seb the indignity of having to watch the game again, in its entirety, on video, and he says:

"Monday morning was two hours of watching the video of the Aston Villa game and after the meeting everybody was happy and saying it is the time to fight for West Ham.

"I know my mistakes and those of my partners but it is good to watch the video and check them over because it helps you learn.

"Football is a difficult job and I am learning every day - as you do when you lose a game 4-1 that you should have won and if, to be the best, you have to look at the video, I do."

Seb feels the defeat at Villa Park last weekend was an injustice and he says: "It was terrible after the game. If you look at it carefully we could have won 6-4, but it was difficult to score, and we lost three goals to mistakes.

"It was not a hard game, as such, and yet we lost 4-1 - terrible."

Seb says of Lee Hendrie's goal which opened the scoring for Villa: "He will probably do that once in his life. It was fantastic skill but if Jermain or Joe had scored just before it would not have been the same game."

Seb praises the side for not giving up and adds: "At 2-0 normally a game is finished, but we were not demoralised and we got it to 2-1. For me we are a much better side than Aston Villa, but when we conceded a bad third goal it killed everybody.

"It is the same for every team at the bottom. If you don't score the first goal you are likely to lose.

"For me, our objective is to finish at least in the top half, and I think we can do so because even though we lost last week we played well - and we have important players like Fredi and Don coming back.

"I can't wait for Monday. We have worked very hard this week and I am sure a new start is coming.

"Last season I would have been sure to win this game though now I don't know; but if the team shows the mentality we have done this week I hope we can play much better."

Seb says the players are right behind Glenn Roeder and adds: "Glenn is a nice man, everybody likes him. He is not the problem - it is the players - and he is a fantastic manager.

"I can't think about it but if he were to leave I am sure a lot of players would leave as well, because Glenn is very important for every player, even Paolo Di Canio.

"But I don't want to speak about this, because it is just a question of one win and then everybody will forget it."

And Seb says that Tomas Repka is buzzing again after a couple weeks out of the side.

"Tomas is back to his best - he has been fantastic this week at the training ground," he says.

Meanwhile, Seb is annoyed about the portrayal of an article in the build up to the Manchester United game which used the 'kill' in the headline and misrepresented his comments about giving his all to try and get a win against them.

Given that the Hammers face Manchester United again soon he is keen to set the record straight and adds: "I just told the journalist I wanted to win Sunday and would be tackling hard, that's all."

And he reveals: "I spoke with Giggs on the pitch and he said he understands, and that journalists are stupid sometimes.

"It is very bad, and if the manager of Manchester United had read it he might have been angry.

"But I have no bad intentions, I think I am a nice man, and I just want to be the best on the pitch. I am an honest player, I don't want to break anyone's legs."

Seb certainly enjoyed a hard but fair battle with Giggs in West Ham's last home game, and he says: "He is a fantastic player, one of the best in his position, and it was a good contest against someone who is very quick.

"He is a nice, elegant player, and I don't know if I won the battle - maybe it was 50/50 - and I had some cramp just before the end of the game because I worked so hard."

He hopes the supporters back the team to that first home win and he adds: "The fans were absolutely terrific against Manchester United and I want to say thank you very much to them because they push the team on. It is very important to have that support.

"When we play with that mentality we are maybe a top seven or top six side, and with players like Paolo, Jermain, and Joe Cole, it is not possible to stay at the bottom.

"I have every confidence in the team and if the players and the fans work together we can come back in the middle of the table."

Indeed, if the team perform as they did in the last home game there are grounds for optimism, though Seb admits he had mixed feelings about the 1-1 draw.

"It is difficult to explain. The players were very happy to get back into the game because it was Manchester United but we need some points and I was disappointed as we worked so hard for just one point at home," he says.

"But if you take the positives, it was a fantastic atmosphere on the pitch and in the stadium - and hopefully it will be on Monday as well."