Stuart Pearce warns West Ham United that Europa League progression won’t ‘be easy’ after Olympiacos loss
Stuart Pearce admits it won’t be easy but he still expects West Ham United to progress out of their Europa League group despite the loss at Olympiacos.
David Moyes’ side tasted defeat for the first time in 17 European matches on Thursday (26 October) when they were beaten 2-1 by the Greek side, with Lucas Paqueta’s late wonder strike not enough to earn the Hammers a point on their travels.
Having won their first two matches in the Europa League, Pearce still believes that the Irons will have enough to reach the knockout stages of the competition, but admits that the upcoming matches could be crucial in West Ham’s season.
Speaking on talkSport on Friday (27 October, 9:14am) Pearce said: “Well I think they’ll get through the group, I would say the next game against Olympiacos is absolutely vital, they’ve got the home advantage on that one.
“I don’t think it’s going to be easy, but then again who thought going to Olympiacos was going to be an easy fixture? I certainly didn’t.”
No need to panic
Thursday’s defeat left an incredibly sour taste in the mouth of most West Ham supporters as their team failed to match the levels that fans and pundits alike have come to expect from Moyes’ side, especially in European competition over the last few seasons.
But realistically, this game can be a complete storm in a teacup, if the Irons bounce back both in the Premier League against Everton and when they face Olympiacos again at the London Stadium in just under a fortnight’s time in their next European outing.
The Hammers are still in an excellent position to qualify for the knockout stages and have already shown that they have enough quality to beat Freiburg and TSC Backa Topola, now it is just a matter of repeating their exploits for a second time in the reverse fixtures.
Moyes will be unlikely to make as many changes as he did in Greece again after his fringe players failed to match the standards of his regular starters and there is a very good chance that the performance and result could be rather different in East London.
Hopefully, Pearce’s confidence is not misguided and the Irons will be able to return to form sooner rather than later, but if they don’t pressure will begin to mount on Moyes in the coming weeks and months.
In other West Ham news, Joe Cole has claimed that Jarrod Bowen is already an Irons’ club legend and he tipped the winger to be one of the greats