- Jarrod Bowen claimed two assists in West Ham’s 2-1 win over Everton on Saturday
- The Hammers captain is confident the team can stay up
- The Irons head to Brentford this weekend, in the first of their final four games
West Ham United secured a huge three points as they beat Everton 2-1 on Saturday. Callum Wilson netted a later winner for the Hammers to guide them to a victory that keeps them out of the bottom three.
West Ham now sit two points above the bottom three and head to Brentford this weekend, looking to continue the unbeaten run.
Hammers captain, Jarrod Bowen, who got two assists in the win on Saturday, told The Athletic that should West Ham retain their top flight status, it would be a bigger achievement than winning the UEFA Conference League.
“I think it would because of the circumstances, the season it’s been the pressure that being captain brings,” Bowen said.
“Being captain is a massive honour but the situation that we’re in, it falls on your head and rightly so. I’ve been here a long time (since January 2020) and people look at me for answers.
“I’m trying to bring my A-game week in, week out. Has it always been like that every week? No but I’m not going to give up on this club, or on my team-mates. If I can help the team with goals and assists, I’ll do that. If not, three points is the most important thing.
“We’ve got good players here that have stepped up in really important moments. When I’m not going to play as well as I’d like, which can happen, it’s important that everyone else around you steps up. We’ve had goals and assists from different people, which is important.”
Bowen learnt from the best at West Ham
In 2024, the now 29-year-old was Bowen was appointed captain of the Hammers. Whilst this season he has caught flack in the leadership role, the winger learnt from the best with the Irons and thinks he is doing a good job in the second-half of the season.
“We’ve done a couple of team meetings and different things as a group,” he added. “When I was named captain (in August 2024), it was Julian Lopetegui. We’ve had two managers since then (Graham Potter and Nuno) and different personnel have come in. I’ve been here six years and I’ve had Nobes (Mark Noble), Dec (Declan Rice) and Kurt Zouma as captain.
“Seeing what they do, trying to take little things from that. Trying to keep the group together off the pitch, I think is really important. Players that we’ve brought in, trying to make them feel as comfortable. It’s trying to put my arm around them and help them settle in straight away.”
Now, West Ham have four games left to clinch top flight safety this season. At the weekend, they head to Brentford, who are another side chasing European football this season.
“At the start of the season, we didn’t pick up as many results that we’d liked,” said Bowen. “But there’s a real spirit, a real togetherness, a change in mentality and we’ve become a tough side to play against. We Wolves beat them 4-0 at home, Palace went away, got a clean sheet, could have won that on another day.
“Today we conceded but the spirit to comeback from 1-1, not give in and to not fold and concede that second goal. Maybe a few months ago, that would have happened and we would’ve lost the game. But I think it goes to show you the team spirit that we’ve got right now and hopefully it stays that way.”
