West Ham United fired right back into the race for Premier League safety as they beat Fulham 1-0 on Wednesday night. The Hammers are now level on points with 17th placed Nottingham Forest as they head into an weekend of FA Cup action.
Nuno Espirito Santo has spoken about how he values the competition and will be hoping to keep his side’s momentum going as they host fellow top flight side, Brentford, on Monday night.
Keith Andrews Bees are surprisingly in contention for Europe in the league this season. A 0-0 midweek draw with AFC Bournemouth leaves them four points behind 6th placed Liverpool and potentially hunting down more than just continental competition in the form of silverware.
Nuno’s thoughts
On Pablo Felipe’s fitness: “recovering, assessing and then preparing”. Adding the player remains out for now.
On West Ham‘s bounce back ability: “We’ve been able to react well. It’s not possible every time but to bounce back from poor performances is always important, especially in the fight we are involved in. We saw against Fulham that the players reacted well after Liverpool, so hopefully it continues. What we want to avoid is setbacks, so let’s keep this flow as long as we can.”
On focusing on themselves, despite other results such as Tottenham Hotspur‘s loss going the Hammers way: “We are still in the same situation. We have a lot of work in front of us.”
On Brentford’s ability to score from set pieces and the way they are being officiated: “It has changed. What referees are allowing from set-piece situations is almost crazy. I think they should review it. I think they should come to the clubs and speak to the players.”
“They need to try to really explain to them what is a foul, what contact is and how far you can go with contact, so that the players are more clear on their actions – because we are seeing things that are not normal. I consider many of them fouls.”
On coaching players on what they can and cannot do in the box when it comes to fouls given: “Not long ago, a contact on the keeper inside the six-yard box was considered a foul. It was the laws of the game. Now, it has changed totally. I’m glad I don’t have to play now because it is really, really hard on them. It is not just because we are playing Brentford – all over the league, as mangers, we have worry and concern about it.”
