Matthew Etherington insists there is no chance of Alan
Pardew's men underestimating the territorial importance of
today's London derby clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
The 25-year-old winger travels back to his former club this afternoon knowing full well that a victory against our fiercest rivals on their own patch will mean much more to Hammers fans than just a vital three points to move us up the Premiership table.
"It is sometimes said that players today don't treat these matches the same or think they have something extra, but we do," says Etherington.
"You know these are big matches and they have something a bit more than the others. And you only have to talk to fans to know how much this sort of match means to them.
"A game like the one with Tottenham is one that they would like to win the most and we'll certainly be going out there to try and do that.
"We also want to get a win under our belts following the last few results and there's nothing better than a game like this in which to do that."
Having played for both clubs, Matty has good experience of London derbies over the last few years and believes Hammers's good record against Spurs in recent clashes will stand them in good stead for the weekend.
"Again, because it's a London derby, it's always going to be a bit tougher than some other matches, because that's the nature of it," he says.
"But we have had some good results against them since I have been here and that gives us a lot of confidence. When we were in the Championship, we took them to extra-time in the Carling Cup and only narrowly lost. Then last year, we went to White Hart Lane early in the season, again with not many people expecting us to get anything and we came away with a point.
"I had to miss the last game of the season because of injury, but the boys won well. While there were a lot of other things going on that day with Tottenham, we had to just get on with it playing the match and we deserved the win."
Matty was at White Hart Lane for three years until he made the move across the capital to Upton Park in the summer of 2003. While he might not have been given a fair chance to show just what he could do in north London, he insists he has nothing to prove to Spurs and is simply just determined to help West Ham pick up all three points today.
"I got asked that a lot when I first moved to West Ham, about what I wanted to prove when we played Spurs, but I just wanted to concentrate on my game for West Ham and make sure we won, because that's the important thing, and it's the same now.
"We haven't had the results of late, but we've not been playing that badly so we know we have to just keep plugging away and we'll get there.
"We have just stuck together as a tight group, because we know that we are better than the last few results have suggested, and there is a genuine belief that we will turn things around.
"Many of us were here when we went through a bad run in the Championship and no one thought we would get promoted. But we just stuck together, from the manager and staff through to the players, and that got us through those times.
"Although we are now in the Premiership, it's the same spirit that will get us through this patch. It's all about having belief in ourselves and working hard to turn those results around."
By Laura Burkin
The 25-year-old winger travels back to his former club this afternoon knowing full well that a victory against our fiercest rivals on their own patch will mean much more to Hammers fans than just a vital three points to move us up the Premiership table.
"It is sometimes said that players today don't treat these matches the same or think they have something extra, but we do," says Etherington.
"You know these are big matches and they have something a bit more than the others. And you only have to talk to fans to know how much this sort of match means to them.
"A game like the one with Tottenham is one that they would like to win the most and we'll certainly be going out there to try and do that.
"We also want to get a win under our belts following the last few results and there's nothing better than a game like this in which to do that."
Having played for both clubs, Matty has good experience of London derbies over the last few years and believes Hammers's good record against Spurs in recent clashes will stand them in good stead for the weekend.
"Again, because it's a London derby, it's always going to be a bit tougher than some other matches, because that's the nature of it," he says.
"But we have had some good results against them since I have been here and that gives us a lot of confidence. When we were in the Championship, we took them to extra-time in the Carling Cup and only narrowly lost. Then last year, we went to White Hart Lane early in the season, again with not many people expecting us to get anything and we came away with a point.
"I had to miss the last game of the season because of injury, but the boys won well. While there were a lot of other things going on that day with Tottenham, we had to just get on with it playing the match and we deserved the win."
Matty was at White Hart Lane for three years until he made the move across the capital to Upton Park in the summer of 2003. While he might not have been given a fair chance to show just what he could do in north London, he insists he has nothing to prove to Spurs and is simply just determined to help West Ham pick up all three points today.
"I got asked that a lot when I first moved to West Ham, about what I wanted to prove when we played Spurs, but I just wanted to concentrate on my game for West Ham and make sure we won, because that's the important thing, and it's the same now.
"We haven't had the results of late, but we've not been playing that badly so we know we have to just keep plugging away and we'll get there.
"We have just stuck together as a tight group, because we know that we are better than the last few results have suggested, and there is a genuine belief that we will turn things around.
"Many of us were here when we went through a bad run in the Championship and no one thought we would get promoted. But we just stuck together, from the manager and staff through to the players, and that got us through those times.
"Although we are now in the Premiership, it's the same spirit that will get us through this patch. It's all about having belief in ourselves and working hard to turn those results around."
By Laura Burkin