Vladimír Coufal says he and his teammates can take plenty of positives from Monday’s important 4-2 victory over Brentford into Saturday's clash away at Everton.
The 31-year-old – making his fourth Premier League start in a row – had a hand in hat-trick hero Jarrod Bowen’s second goal against the Bees, with his inch-perfect cross steered home from close range by the England forward.
The Hammers are set to face Sean Dyche’s Toffees next on Merseyside, and, off the back of their first league win in seven games, head into Saturday’s match sitting eighth in the table.
David Moyes’ side will be hungry for revenge having fallen 1-0 in the reverse fixture at London Stadium in October, and will be confident after claiming the full share of the spoils on two of their last three visits to Goodison Park.
Coufal, who is just three assists away from equalling the record in the Premier League by a Czech player, hopes the Irons can begin to find consistency on their quest for European qualification.
He said: “It was a huge win against Brentford. I hope we can take very good positives from the game [on Monday] and take them into the next games.
"We have very important matches coming up, but at the moment our heads are focused on Everton, and we need to be ready for it.
“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster so far this season, both up and down. We have had some very good results and then some very bad performances which I am not happy about. It’s very important to be consistent.
“We had Lucas [Paquetá] back as well, which was massive for us. I listened to Emerson’s interview after the game when he said when he [Paquetá] plays our confidence is very high, and I think it’s the truth as he is a big player and has a big impact for us.”
Ahead of the Everton fixture, Coufal insists his side have done their homework on the opposition and will be looking to nullify their strengths. However, he is still expecting a difficult test, with Dyche’s charges fighting for Premier League survival.
He said: “They [Everton] are a really big threat from set-pieces, and I think they have routines that they will continue to repeat. They press very high, are aggressive at home and have two very strong central defenders.
“I don’t think many teams like to play at Goodison Park, as the crowd are very unfriendly to all Premier League teams and try to help create the best possible environment for the home team. We won the game against Brentford and want to win against Everton to be consistent, so we need to deal with this.
“It’s something different [playing against teams fighting relegation]. We experienced it last year against teams who came to London Stadium, and it was really tough as they fight for everything on the pitch as they are playing for their futures.
“The mentality is something different because when you’re playing for European places and titles there is nothing to lose, you can just gain, but in a relegation battle in the Premier League there is a lot to lose.”
Coufal had praise for Bowen following his first senior hat-trick against Brentford, and believes fans can expect more of the same, while he is also striving to achieve his own personal accolade.
He added: “I think he [Bowen] has worked very hard on his finishing. After every training session he is doing something extra, and you can see it pays off as he has now scored 14 goals in the Premier League.
“It’s very impressive and I’m really happy he scored his first hat-trick after a very good performance, because he is a very good guy and always tries to be positive and do everything for the team. I think we can expect more goals, but it also depends on the service we provide him.
“I have a good understanding and connection with Jarrod, and I have provided quite a few assists for him. Hopefully I can overtake the seven [assists] I got in my first season here because I want to become the Czech player with the most assists in Premier League history. I only need three more to equal that!”
