The manager says a ‘team of 55,000’ will be willing West Ham United to win today’s Premier League fixture with Swansea City...
Good morning everyone.
Today, we host Paul Clement and his Swansea City team at London Stadium in what is our most-important game of the season, without a doubt.
We have been on a bad run, but what has happened in the past is not important today. We need to be together, go onto the pitch believing this is our game to win, and show confidence and ability and desire and all that to get the job done.
We need everybody together, on the pitch, on the bench, in the dressing room and in the stands.
We are optimistic that we should have Andy Carroll and Michail Antonio available to play. Andy had some tightness in his groin, but he was able to play on for 15 minutes, while Mikey was ill during the day, so he played the first half before we took him off to rest him for today’s game.
Mikey’s attitude sums up the unity and determination in the squad. We have lost five games, which is very bad, but we want to turn things around immediately.
We know the position we are in and it is us who are to blame, starting with me as the manager, but it is now more than the right time to get the points we need to get out of trouble.
I didn’t smell this. I didn’t think we would lose these five games, and we had chances to get points from four of them. We didn’t, and that is my responsibility.
We are not just a team of eleven fighting for those points this afternoon; we are a team of 18 players, the staff and 55,000 fans supporting us inside London Stadium
Slaven Bilic
My biggest job this week was to take those defeats on the chest and prepare the team to face Swansea – a team we beat 4-1 on Boxing Day in their own stadium.
It is the key point for me to get the players ready for two massively important games. It is not a do-or-die situation, but we want to do our job now. We need one win and it will change everything for us. Three points at this stage of the season are massive.
We are not just a team of eleven fighting for those points this afternoon; we are a team of 18 players, the staff and 55,000 fans supporting us inside London Stadium.
We have to put everything towards our one and only aim and that is to win the game.
Make no mistake, I rate Swansea and I rate Paul Clement and everything, but they are below us in the table and we have the ability and belief that we will beat them.
I will never stop believing in myself and my methods and the quality of my work, but we have to deliver results, and now is the time to do that for the Club.
It’s a great challenge for all of us, including myself as a manager.
We are experienced and we have leaders and, if we stick together, we can approach the game with a lot of confidence.
It’s not a question of ‘Can we do it?’ – We have to do it.
Please give it everything and get behind the team today. Together, we can rise to this challenge and meet it.
Come on you Irons!
Slaven Bilic