- West Ham play Everton on Saturday afternoon
- Nuno Espirito Sant has been speaking pre-match
- There are no new injury woes for the Hammers
West Ham United host Everton Saturday looking to gain more ground in the survival fight. Coming off the back of a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, the Hammers return home looking for three points that could lift them to five points clear of the relegation zone.
Everton are also in need of three points, but the Toffees goal this season is European football. David Moyes’s team head to the London Stadium on the back of a difficult Merseyside derby loss but expect to pick themselves up and fight for a top six place.
Nuno’s thoughts
On team news: “All [of] the squad is available and good.”
Keeping the positivity in the group: “The players realise the situation but work in a good environment, which is helpful.”
On the departure of Karren Brady, after 16 years at West Ham: “She has been very supportive, good relationship. All the board have been supportive through difficult times. It has been a pleasure working with Karren.”
On the relegation fight: “There is a lot of football to be played so we have to focus on ourselves and Saturday is a big task for us.
“It has been very demanding, very intense, so we are always looking at how we can improve and get our objectives done.”
On the recent form and improvements made since January: “The players are improving their levels and the standards. As long as we are improving our players, the team will improve.. We have been solid in defence, good in attack, sometimes not so good. Finding that balance in the remaining matches is going to be crucial for us.”
On the Hammers home form: “Since we joined, it was one of our main goals to try to be comfortable at home. Credit to the fans. I think the fans realise the situation of the team and really put an effort in to support us. The team is giving back and the atmosphere has been good. Three games out of [the past] five at home has really helped us.”
On Axel Disasi and his form since joining West Ham: “He has been very helpful. Since he joined he has performed really good. We are positive that we have options at centre–half.”
On what he expects on Saturday: “It’s a tough game against a good team, good players. David Moyes is a good manager. It is going to be at the London Stadium – I think we have been improving our home factor [with] the support of the fans and we count on them to try to compete well and have a good performance.”
