Vladimír Coufal says West Ham United are determined to keep their unbeaten run going and continue climbing the Premier League table for the Claret and Blue Army.
The Hammers’ faithful were left frustrated by a slow start to the 2022/23 season, which saw their team reach the halfway stage with just 15 points and sitting inside the relegation zone.
Since then, the Irons have picked up five points from three games, beating Everton 2-0 at London Stadium before securing creditable come-from-behind 1-1 draws at Newcastle United and home to Chelsea.
Those results saw Coufal and company rise to 16th in the standings and, while the Czech joked that the team might be better off giving their opponents a goal start, seeing as they seemingly play better after falling behind, he is hoping their overall improvement continues from the first whistle at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
The right wing-back himself will certainly give his all. Popular among teammates and supporters alike for his 100% commitment, the No5 has been back to his best in recent weeks, and provided the cross which led to Emerson's equaliser against Chelsea at the weekend.
He spoke to the media after that game and this is what the former Slavia Prague man had to say...
Vlad, what did you make of Saturday’s draw with Chelsea?
“We started like against Newcastle; a horrible start for us. I think we have to start like we already believing we’ll be losing one-nil! It will be better for us maybe, because we start to play properly after, so maybe at the beginning of the next game, we gave them a goal before the game and it will be a better scenario!
“We showed great character because Chelsea absolutely dominated the first 20 minutes and after we turned this game and maybe we could grab more than one point from this game, but still it is Chelsea, so we have to take this point.”
You sense confidence is rising among the players?
“I think we have to climb from this relegation zone because one month ago it was horrible to check check the Premier League table for me, so that's why I didn't check the table maybe for months, as it was absolutely horrible to see West Ham in the relegation zone, for me.
“Now, we are climbing up and hopefully we will never stop till the end of the season and we will be as high as possible and we will be delivering the good performances and good results for the fans.”
Speaking of the fans, did you sense their frustration before the recent upturn in results?
“It's happening. They are fans, they are paying for, for watching a football. So sometimes when I met them on the on the street, some asked to have an autograph, and some asked why we played [poorly].
“I try to be polite. I'm just saying [to the fans who I meet]: ‘It's football, you know. Everybody wants to win and sometimes it's not possible for both teams to win’.
“All you can do is listen to their opinion and do everything we can on the pitch to deliver a good result and make them happy. It’s part of the job.”
