Vladimír Coufal insists West Ham United are desperate to get back to their best in Sunday’s return to Premier League action at Sheffield United.
A first away league trip of 2024 awaits with a visit to Bramall Lane and the Irons head up to Sheffield on a four-match unbeaten run in the league; a streak which includes wins over the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United.
However, the disappointment of an FA Cup third-round replay defeat at Bristol City is still fresh in Coufal’s mind, with the defender eager to right some wrongs on Sunday.
“We have a lot to prove this weekend, after the recent games against Bristol City,” he told whufc.com. “We want to be in better shape and we want to get the three points.
"We’re going to be missing some players but it’s a good opportunity for other lads to show what they can do. We want to get the win.
“Sometimes, games like Tuesday happen. Football is a game and it is nearly impossible to predict what is going to happen. But we know that we shouldn’t let things like that happen very often at all and we, as a squad, have something to prove at Sheffield United.”
The 31-year-old played a pivotal role in the reverse fixture against the Blades, back in September, playing an assist for Jarrod Bowen’s opener at London Stadium in the 2-0 win.
That contribution came during a run that saw Coufal register four assists in as many Premier League games, and the Czech Republic international hopes to make a similar impact in the coming fixtures.
“Hopefully I can carry on in the same way," he added. "I want to play as much as possible. We played well against them at home earlier in the season and we want to get the same result and put in another good performance at their place.”
While the early exit from this campaign’s FA Cup was a frustration for the team, the Irons’ are in a European competition’s knock-out stages for a third consecutive year and sit sixth in the Premier League table.
It has therefore been an enjoyable first half of the campaign and Coufal has called on the side to retain the spirit that got them into those good positions.
“We have a good mood and it’s still the same from the beginning of the season,” he continued. “We are encouraging each other, and we are training really hard on the pitch.
“We are trying to work on the things that we need to improve on. That’s a positive because, while the last game was a bad one, we don’t want to let one bad result affect our collective mood. We’ve been doing well this season and we want to keep that going.”
