- West Ham host Everton in the Premier League tomorrow
- The Hammers could go three points clear of the bottom three
- Everton are still chasing Europe
West Ham United take on Everton tomorrow looking to make more steps forward in their Premier League survival fight. The Hammers are currently two point above the relegation zone but known there is still a long way to go in the fight.
Speaking in the build up to West Ham‘s game tomorrow, defender El Hadji Malick Diouf has been stating what it will take for the Hammers to stay in the top flight.
“You have to give everything. You don’t need to keep something for yourself. We need make a lot of effort for the team. I think it’s the best way we can do to stay up.”
Diouf is said to be one of the key players in keeping the positivity in the squad, something that has now spread.
“The coach [Nuno] tells us what he thinks and does what he can help us to be better, to give us a good mentality. Now it’s up to us to go on the pitch and show everyone we are not here to joke.
“We’ve come so far. It was really difficult at the beginning of the season, but I think we are back, so we have to keep that. The battle is in our hands now. We have that in our hands, so we have to keep that and try to make a good result every time.
“Now every game is a final, so we don’t have to think. We have to take it also game by game. I think it’s also important.”
Composure can lift West Ham
Nuno Espirito Santo has pushed composure within the team, to not let the pressure get to the decisions they make on the pitch. Whilst it’s easy to say from the side lines, Diouf does believe it has now spread to the players, and is helping them in every game.
“He doesn’t need that pressure. Even us players, we know our quality and we know what we can do on the pitch so we don’t need to have that pressure.
“It’s not the table [that matters until the end of the season], it’s the game. It’s normal that the fans want our position to be better because they support West Ham and want the team to be winning all the games and we accept that and understand them and try to make them happy.
“The only way to make them happy is to win the games and try to keep West Ham in the league. So, we make a lot of effort and we have to continue like this and try to get more points.”
As Everton head to the London Stadium, Diouf will meet his fellow countryman, Iliman Ndiaye. Diouf speaks regularly with Ndiaye, but states when the first whistle goes, it is all about business.
“We talk a lot about this game. It will be a really important game for us. We are patient but we have to take the game. We know what we can do and we are just waiting on Saturday to get that three points.
“Ndiaye is a really good player. Everyone knows that. Idrissa is my big brother. Everyone loves and respects him and I love him so much, but on Saturday, we are only brothers outside the pitch! Once the game starts, I won’t know him!
“As a player, you have to think about your team and how you can try to be good in the game.”
