Pablo Fornals comments on West Ham’s Europa League campaign
Pablo Fornals has suggested that West Ham players have found it new to cope with dual commitments of Premier League and Europe at the same time.
The Hammers have dropped crucial points in recent games and have slipped down the Premier League table as a result, but they still have a good chance of making it to the top four.
The London outfit are also in the knock-out stages of the Europa League, where they are waiting to know who could be their next opponent.
Fornals has suggested that the lack of experience in Europe makes it “intense” for them and that they are experiencing something new.
The Spaniard spoke to the club’s official website: “It has been intense and not many of the guys have played European competitions before.
“We have done well in the two cups too, so it’s many games but we have really good players and the whole squad is committed for everything.
“I think it’s most important to keep taking points and still pass rounds in the other competitions.
“We are the first ones who want to fly everytime, who want to be fighting with the teams at the top, but all of this is new for every one of us.”
Could be a factor
The Hammers are struggling to match the intensity of the first half and there could be a lot of factors behind this.
The obvious one is that the expectation levels have risen after a strong start, and there’s an added pressure on them now.
David Moyes’s side has picked up just one win in their last five league games, and one could see the performance level has dropped down.
More than physical fatigue, the players could be mentally worn out. That is why the squad needed one or two new faces to freshen things up.
Fornals himself started the season on fire. However, like Michail Antonio, he too is failing to make a strong impact.
This is a strange situation they’re in, and the Spaniard could be right in his assessment.
The Hammers face a run of really tough games, and they need to return to winning ways at the earliest.
In other West Ham news, long-range master Scott Twine is on the club’s summer shortlist having contributed in 22 goals for MK Dons this season.