Pablo West Ham: Fernandes Says Players Believe They Can Do It
Pablo West Ham faces Arsenal on Sunday with relegation pressure hanging over the club, but Mateus Fernandes says the mood at Rush Green has not changed. West Ham are one point behind Tottenham Hotspur, so the result at the London Stadium could shape whether survival is still in their own hands by the final day.
Fernandes Backing At Rush Green
Fernandes said the mood around the training ground remains steady. "The atmosphere [at Rush Green] is not different, it’s the same," he said, adding, "When we come to the training ground, the mood is very good. The guys believe we can do it."
He also pointed to the immediate swing in results around them. "Our position is different compared to last week, but it’s football. Everything can change very quickly," Fernandes said. "Last week, we were happier. This week, they won the game and everything changed, but we can change it. We need to be ourselves again. We need to do the same things because in the last four games, we just lost one and it was this last one. We’re doing the right things."
Pablo Felipe On His Season
Pablo Felipe called this "the most important moment of my career" and said West Ham are still working from a position of belief. "We know the requirements of the Premier League and we know our mission. We know we are in a difficult situation, but we are confident and positive that we will achieve our goal. We are all working together and focused," he said.
The forward has had a limited first spell in England. He arrived in the winter window from Portugal, after joining from Gil Vicente, and has contributed to one moment in his 11 league outings. That leaves West Ham relying on more than individual output against an Arsenal side chasing the title.
Nuno Espirito Santo's Role
Pablo also singled out Nuno Espirito Santo. "We have a great coach who helps us a lot. He always motivates us and reassures us about our situation. We have to work hard to get out of this situation," he said.
Fernandes' own first season in England came with different challenges. He joined West Ham from Southampton in the summer and earned his first Portugal international cap in March, but he said his earlier move across the Channel was difficult because of language barriers. "Last season, when I went to England, my first season here, I spoke in Portuguese," he said. "It was difficult because I didn’t speak English and no one spoke Portuguese or Spanish [at Southampton]."
West Ham now go into Sunday needing a result that would ease the pressure before Tottenham Hotspur face Leeds United on Monday. If they fail and Tottenham win, relegation would be a likely outcome before the final day, which makes the Arsenal match the clearest test of the mood Fernandes says is still intact.
