West Ham United U23s have come back from the international break fully focused on securing three points against Tottenham Hotspur, according to Dan Chesters.
Mark Robson’s development squad claimed a 3-1 win against Brighton and Hove Albion before the first international fixtures of 2022, ending a run of five Premier League 2 matches without a win.
As the Hammers look to keep the pressure up on Manchester City at the top of the table, Chesters is adamant the team is ready for the test Spurs will offer in Monday’s match.
“It was a really important win last time out against Brighton,” the winger told whufc.com. “It was a hard game. Brighton are always a tough test, but we got the three points and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. We really need those three points and I think that put us in good stead ahead of the international break.
“It’s been a good few days off for the lads who haven’t been on international duty. We’ve been back to work for a few days and it’s been a tough few sessions in training. We’re feeling ready for the next game and we’re all properly focused on the match versus Tottenham.”
The reverse fixture back in October was certainly one of the most entertaining of the U23s’ season so far, securing a 4-3 victory against the north London side, with six goals shared between the two sides in the first half.
Chesters points to how Spurs attacked the Irons as a sign for how they will play at Rush Green Stadium.
“The reverse fixture was absolutely mental. I can remember in the first half it was just goal after goal after goal. I think six of the goals in the game were scored in that first half. It was end-to-end and it was insane.
“Obviously we then got the penalty in the second half which set us on the way to winning the game. It was a good win, but the game itself was mental.
“We know Spurs like to try and play good football and their attacking players are always a threat. We need to keep that in mind on Monday and learn from the reverse fixture.”
With the Tottenham match the first in the run of West Ham’s final five league matches, Chesters knows the Hammers need to claim maximum points to have a chance of catching City at the top of the division.
He added: “We have a big few weeks coming up and we want to keep the pressure on Manchester City. We need to pick up as many points as we can.
“We obviously need them to drop points somewhere but, for us, we just have to focus on ourselves and keep up our winning ways.”
