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Vladimir Coufal ready for West Ham challenge against Eintracht Frankfurt
West Ham defender Vladimir Coufal has urged his teammates to get over their defeat to Arsenal for the Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Irons travel to Germany looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg but come into it on the back of stuttering league form which has seen them drop down to seventh in the Premier League table.
That would see the Hammers qualify for next season’s Europa Conference League but with a Europa League success offering a route into the coveted Champions League, Coufal is desperate to see the squad take advantage of the opportunity.
“We put a lot of energy in on the pitch on Sunday (against Arsenal), but now we need to have a quick recovery because everybody knows what is ahead of us,” he told official club media (3 May).
“It’s a huge game on Thursday for all West Ham fans, all the players and all the staff here.
“We know they [Eintracht Frankfurt] are a big team. It will be a special game in Frankfurt because with their fans, it’s going to be an unbelievable atmosphere there.
“We need to be ready for everything.”
Now or Never
Although it has been frustrating most Irons fans will take the declining league form with a pinch of salt as the club battles to secure improbable continental success.’
That strategy was going swimmingly until last week’s defeat and now the return leg in Germany has become a season-defining game for David Moyes and his players.
A Europa League spot through the league now looks unlikely and it would be a major disappointment for the Irons to drop into a lesser competition when they’ve performed so admirably at this level.
Eyes at the London Stadium are looking up not down and overcoming Frankfurt to reach the final is another crucial step to ensuring the club keeps moving forward.
It really does hang on a knife-edge and as well as Moyes’ men have done this campaign failure to progress would see the season end in a bit of a disappointing whimper.
In other West Ham news, a BBC pundit has identified a player who would be a ‘great fit’ at the London Stadium.
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