Morgan Amalfitano says West Ham United’s full focus is on ending the season as strongly as they began it.
Amalfitano, an arrival late in the summer transfer window, scored in the early-campaign victories over Liverpool and Manchester City as the Hammers soared high in the Barclays Premier League table.
Following a more difficult run of results after Christmas, Sam Allardyce’s men ended an eight-game wait for victory by beating Sunderland last time out and the 30-year-old Frenchman, who recently penned a new two-year deal, is keen to build on that success at Leicester City this Saturday.
He said: “We’ve had a week’s rest due to the international break and hopefully we will be able to follow the last game and build on the win we had against Sunderland at home, because we need that.
“It will be a tough game and we need to be focused, but I think we can do something.
“Maybe it is not good to have that break straight away after a win, but we will see. The rest could do us good.
“We have a big chance to end the season strongly. We have a lot of games against the teams below us, but that’s not going to be easy. You have to be focused and we will be against Leicester.”
Amalfitano was speaking at the Club’s first signing session of the Easter holidays on Monday as the No21 and teammate Aaron Cresswell met Hammers supporters.
Fans have another chance to meet their heroes at 3pm on Tuesday when Nene and Enner Valencia head to the Basildon store, and Amalfitano was delighted to meet the supporters.
He continued: “It was very nice to see the fans. It is great to see them happy so it was a pleasure to meet them on Monday.
“There were lots of children there and I was that little boy once, so now I’m pleased to be able to put smiles on the young fans’ faces now.
“When I was young in Cannes I had the chance to see some of the players then. It was a big surprise and I was a little bit shy, but I remember the experience and it is inspiring for young people to meet the players they look up to.”