West Ham coach Stuart Pearce shares ’emotional’ behind scene view
West Ham coach Stuart Pearce has admitted he had a tear in his eye in his “incredibly emotional” behind the scene dressing room admission after the Aston Villa showdown.
It was a special day for Andriy Yarmolenko who scored the winner in his first outing since February, against Kidderminster Harriers.
The Ukrainian international has been on compassionate leave amid Russia’s invasion of his home country with Pearce stating the 32-year-old has responded “brilliantly” despite the hugely difficult circumstances.
“It was a really, really emotional day,” the West Ham coach told talkSPORT.
“I’ve got to say Yarma’s conducted himself brilliantly over the last few weeks and to be honest with you, how he’s done it, I don’t know.
“He’s been in to train most of the time, obviously with everything that’s going on, he was fortunate enough to get his wife and children out of Ukraine after the war had started.
“It’s been really, really tough for him, and an incredibly emotional day yesterday, I’ve got to say. The scene was almost set for Yarma and the feeling and the support that everyone in this country has for Ukraine.
“We came in afterwards [into the dressing room] and there was standing applause when he scored his goal.
“He was in tears and I’ve got to say there was a tear in my eye as well for everything that it meant.
“But the way he conducted himself, the way the whole stadium came together, and I think there were Villa fans who showed support believe it or not, it was fantastic to see.”
Togetherness
It really was written in the stars. It was great to see Yarmolenko back in the matchday squad against Aston Villa.
Admittedly before kick-off it seemed like a day where the winger would receive a lot of admiration from both sets of fans and maybe a few songs sung in support of him, but nobody would have expected him to feature and definitely not to score.
It was a huge moment for the forward who has been through such a tough time lately and it was so nice to see both sets of fans show their appreciation.
Pearce’s behind the scenes view is really heart-warming also. Let’s be completely honest, not one West Ham fan would expect the hardcore veteran to be as open with his emotional admission as he was, but it really does emphasise not only the size of the crisis but the love this squad has for Yarmolenko.
Now the dynamo is back in action, hopefully he can add some more goals because the Irons are really going to need him in the coming weeks, especially with the injury to Michail Antonio.
In other West Ham news, the Irons up their interest in Nottingham Forest defender Joe Worrall – report
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