- Sofiane Feghouli thanks West Ham United fans for their support this season
- Algerian believes Hammers played near to their best against West Brom a fortnight ago
- No7 says squad 'owe it' to travelling fans to go for a win at Watford on Saturday
Sofiane Feghouli has thanked the Claret and Blue Army for their support during his maiden season at West Ham United.
The No7 endured a difficult start to his time in English football, suffering a hamstring injury just weeks after completing his summer move from Spanish giants Valencia. A fit-again Feghouli then struggled to force his way back into Slaven Bilic’s team before establishing himself as a regular starter this calendar year.
Throughout 2016/17, Hammers fans have stuck with the Algeria star, and their faith has been rewarded with a series of impressive performances in West Ham’s recent improved run of form and results.
Already hugely popular among supporters in his homeland, Feghouli’s popularity continues to grow among those in this country, and the winger is pleased he has been given the chance to repay the faith they have placed in him.
“It’s very important for me to have a relationship with the fans,” he told whufc.com. “After the match at Southampton [which West Ham came from behind to win 3-1], I received messages from supporters on social media and the support from the 3,000 fans who travelled to the game was excellent.
“The atmosphere at all of our recent games has been superb and that drives us on to go and get the wins, which is especially important in England because every game is so difficult here.
“Algerian fans are particularly fanatical about Algerian players who are playing abroad, so naturally they are interested in West Ham and how we are getting on.”
Of course we will prepare ourselves as best as possible with the staff and we will be going there with the aim of getting three points
Sofiane Feghouli
However, the most recent of them ended in disappointment as West Bromwich Albion snatched a late equaliser to deny the Hammers a deserved victory at London Stadium a fortnight ago.
“It was great frustration for us to concede in the final minute and immediately after the match we were all extremely disappointed with both the result and some of the decisions made, but that is the nature of football and we need to stay positive,” Feghouli confirmed.
“In terms of the quality of our football, though, I thought we played one of our best matches of the season so far.
“We need to continue to play in that way and go into every game with the attitude that we need to ‘Win, win, win!’. We owe that to our supporters.”
West Ham's next Premier League fixture at Watford will be screened live by BT Sport 1 at 5.30pm on Saturday evening.
Around 2,000 Hammers will also make the relatively short trip to Vicarage Road and Feghouli is determined to reward them with a third straight away league win.
“Watford is a very important game for us,” he observed. “Of course we will prepare ourselves as best as possible with the staff and we will be going there with the aim of getting three points.
“We hope to put on a good show for our fans and move higher up the table.”