West Ham United Under-23s midfielder Alfie Lewis has called on his teammates to channel their recent frustrations into a positive performance against Liverpool on Friday afternoon.
The development squad have experienced a difficult start to life back at the top table of Premier League 2, going into Friday’s game still aiming to secure a first league win of the season.
Slow starts have proven costly in recent games, with the young Hammers conceding inside the first two minutes of the 3-2 loss against Derby County on Monday.
The Irons similarly conceded early on in a loss by the same scoreline versus Brighton & Hove Albion last month, but in both instances, the young Irons demonstrated their undoubted quality by clawing themselves back into promising positions.
Lewis therefore wants to help West Ham take that momentum and apply it from minute one right the way through to minute 90, when they play host to Liverpool at Rush Green Stadium.
“It’s frustrating,” Lewis admitted, speaking to whufc.com. “We’ve had a lot of games like that this year, where we’ve started slow but then started to play in the second half. It’s happened a lot this season.
“We need to start better, be more physical and be more on the front foot. It’s been like that at the minute – but we can change it.
“The Liverpool game is a chance to bounce back quickly, and that’s what you want as a footballer. Another game in the space of a few days gives us the chance to get our frustration out and try and get a positive result on the board.”
As showcased better by their EFL Trophy results – in which the development squad have seen off senior Football League opposition in Southend United and Colchester United, 3-1 and 1-0 respectively – the Hammers have played some excellent football at times so far this season.
It’s really important that in the dressing room, despite being disappointed of course, the players all still have that hunger to get our first win
Alfie Lewis
With an easy-on-the-eye style of high intensity pressing and sharp back-to-front transitions, the U23s have competed well against every opponent, and can consider themselves unfortunate to still be seeking their first Premier League 2 win of the season.
Against Liverpool, Lewis wants the U23s to capitalise on the level of performance they know they are capable of attaining.
“At Derby, quality-wise on the ball, I think we were poor,” he admitted. “We knew we could play better than we did.
“Our passing, our crossing, our play in the final third… if we can brush up on those aspects and get them to our normal standard, we’ve got a great chance in any game.
“I think it’s really important that in the dressing room, despite being disappointed of course, the players all still have that hunger to get our first win. We just need to start matches better, and that will help us put in better performances.”
West Ham United Under-23s take on Liverpool Under-23s on Friday 6 November in a behind-closed-doors fixture. Kick-off is at 2pm; you can follow all the action with our live blog on whufc.com from 1.30pm.
Please note that all Academy fixtures will be played behind closed doors until further notice. Only key personnel will be admitted on site and matches will be played without supporters present, in line with safety guidelines and social distancing measures in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
