Young Hammers Reece Oxford and Vashon Neufville hope the Development Squad's league disappointment will drive them to a victory in the Barclays U21 Premier League Cup final first leg on Monday.
The U21s face Hull City at the Boleyn Ground at 7pm in the stadium's final final and last Dev Squad game.
Terry Westley's team just missed out on the play-offs in their league campaign after a final day defeat at Aston Villa, but are keen to bounce back when they face the Tigers.
The Hammers can use the experience at Villa Park to motivate them for Monday's vital fixture, according to centre-back Oxford, who has captained the Dev Squad during their journey to the final.
He said: "The defeat against Aston Villa will hopefully drive us to win the final because we don't want to end the season badly.
"The game was a bit feisty towards the end but hopefully we can go into the match against Hull right up for it and win the last two games of the season.
"We just treat it like we're playing any top side, because we don't want to not perform as well. They are a good side and we just treat them like Arsenal or any other big club."
West Ham beat Liverpool in the semi-final to progress and Oxford hopes the supporters are in good voice again on Monday as they were in the clash against the Reds at Rush Green.
"We're looking forward to it and hopefully we can get good support [at the Boleyn Ground] to win the first game at our ground to take to theirs," he continued.
"The fans are always good with us, and they were against Liverpool. They were important and hopefully they can see us through the match to eventually win the Cup."
Left-back Neufville has been involved regularly with the U21s in the second half of the season, and he is hoping to play a part in Monday's huge battle.
He said: "It is going to be a great game. It was a great motivation to have that one last game at the Boleyn and I haven't personally played there yet so hopefully I can be involved and have that experience.
"The confidence is there from our team. We have worked hard in training in preparation for the game.
"We should have beaten Aston Villa I think so we want to make up for the defeat in that game by doing well in the final."