Fabian Balbuena is determined to help West Ham United turn their hard work on the training ground into positive results – starting with Sunday’s Premier League fixture at Everton.
The Hammers have spent the past fortnight on the pitch and in the presentation room at Rush Green, seeking to eradicate the errors that cost them dear in their opening four matches, all of which ended in defeat.
And the experienced Paraguay international defender has identified taking better care of the ball when in possession as a vital area for improvement if West Ham are to score their first victory of the season at Goodison Park.
We will have to face Everton with our weapons and I hope we can be victorious
Fabian Balbuena
“We have continued to do the same things, with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of harmony, and worked well, always with the intention of raising the performance of the team in the matches and get a victory on Sunday,” said the No4.
“Objectively, speaking of the matches we have played, I think we are not being able to have the possession we’d want to, so we need to be better at that. If we do, will have more chances to manage the flow of the game and be more dangerous.”
“These first few months working with Manuel Pellegrini have been very good, I think that we are still learning from his experience and we hope that the work we did throughout the preseason and over the last two weeks can give us the results we want.”
Balbuena is well aware that West Ham will have to perform well if they are to defeat an opponent in Everton who have yet to lose a Premier League match this season.
Like the Hammers, the Toffees recruited a new manager and a host of new players in the summer, with the likes of Richarlison already catching the eye.
However, the Brazilian attacker will miss Sunday’s match through suspension, as will injured defenders Seamus Coleman, Phil Jagielka and Michael Keane and Balbuena believes West Ham can take advantage of their absences and score a confidence-boosting victory.
“I have seen several of their matches, they have started quite well,” he observed. “New players arrived who are going through a very good moment, so we will have to face them with our weapons and I hope we can be victorious.
“They have good reserve players who can enter and do it in the same way, but we do not think about that. We try to improve what we have been doing, demonstrate it on the pitch and get good results, which is the most important thing.”