David Moyes believes his West Ham United side can overcome Swansea City after braving the elements to reach South Wales.
The Hammers’ had planned to fly to Cardiff Airport on Friday afternoon, but had to travel to Swansea by coach after their flight was cancelled due to inclement weather in the Welsh capital.
However, after a drama-free journey to the city, Moyes and his team will be rested and ready to take on Carlos Carvalhal’s side on Saturday afternoon.
The Scot believes his team need ten points from their final ten Premier League matches to assure their top-flight safety, and believes they have a big opportunity to pick up three of them at the Liberty Stadium.
“I’ve always said 40 points, that’s always been the magic figure or the standard figure, so I’ve not looked into it too closely to see what the figure might be,” he said. “We've got ten games left and I think we have a realistically really good chance in six or seven of them and a chance to pick up points in the others.
“So somewhere along that line we have to win at least another three games during the run-in to make sure we get over the line.”
I think Ginge has done well. He’s been really important to us. He’s led and played well in the games for us
David Moyes
Two Hammers who could play a big part in the destination of the points at the Liberty Stadium will be Michail Antonio and James Collins.
Antonio has recently returned from injury and disciplinary issues to grab an assist and a goal in the Hammers’ previous two matches, while Collins returns to his homeland on a run of inspiring form at centre-half.
“Michail has been much better. He's been on it, he's had an impact. I like him a lot, I think he's got a lot of good attributes and a lot of good things going for him.
“I think Ginge has done well. He’s been really important to us. He’s led and played well in the games for us.”
After Saturday’s game at Swansea, West Ham tackle Burnley at London Stadium on 10 March before a quirk of the fixture list means they will not play another Premier League match until Southampton visit east London on 31 March.
With two free weekends, Moyes says he may take the squad away to a warm-weather training camp to prepare them for the final eight games.
“I think we’ll go away after Burnley. We’ve not decided yet, but when you see what the weather is like and how cold it is, we’ll try and get the players away.
“I’ve asked the players to be really focused. I didn’t let them have any Christmas parties or anything, so if we do go away, the players have deserved it with the effort that they’ve put in since I’ve been here, so we’ll see if we can get something sorted.”