Emerson Palmieri has set his sights on helping West Ham United secure a fourth consecutive season of European football, ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to bottom side Sheffield United.
The Hammers travel north to Bramall Lane off the back of Emirates FA Cup disappointment away to Bristol City on Tuesday evening, looking for a response back in the league where they have had contrasting fortunes of late.
With 16 more points than they had gathered at this stage of the season last term, David Moyes’ men currently sit sixth in the table - with a game in hand over both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United above and below them - and full-back Emerson is hopeful of a fourth win in five.
“We did well in the first part of the season, and now it’s up to us to go again in the second part, which I think is the most important,” the 29-year-old said.
“We want to stay in the top six and keep pushing, and we want to qualify for Europe again, so it’s up to us to keep up the good league form and try to keep winning every game.
“We’ve had a good run in the league over the last two months, particularly defensively. We tend to score in most games, so if we’re able to keep clean sheets it gives us a really good chance of getting points on the board. Hopefully that continues this weekend.”
West Ham could indeed record five consecutive league clean sheets for the first time in 33 years with a shutout in South Yorkshire, though Emerson insists that all inside the Irons’ camp are expecting a tough outing.
Sheffield United go into the fixture eight points adrift of safety but having claimed a confidence-boosting 4-0 victory over Gillingham in the FA Cup last time out, as well as a win over Brentford and a draw against Aston Villa since Chris Wilder’s December reappointment.
Emerson said: “If you look at the table you’d say that we’re favourites going into the game, but every match in the Premier League is difficult. They’re playing for their lives, so we need to be firmly on our game.
“We might be expected to have more of the ball and create more chances, but if that happens we need to make sure we’re wary of counter-attacks. We need to prepare well, try to create chances and be more clinical in the box than we have been lately.”
Mohammed Kudus and Nayef Aguerd are unavailable for the clash due to their involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Moyes revealed that Jarrod Bowen, Edson Álvarez and Pablo Fornals all face late fitness tests in the build-up to kick-off.
Italy international Emerson - who has made 28 appearances in all competitions this season - is confident West Ham have the tools to pick up a result regardless of the absence issues however, and is clear that the Club has stood up to similar tests in the recent past.
He added: “Of course the likes of Kudus and Jarrod are important to us because of the quality they possess, and it isn’t easy without them, but at the same time we need to look at things positively.
“If they’re not able to play, it provides an opportunity for some of the other players. When we’ve lost players like Declan Rice before, players like James [Ward-Prowse] have come in and done well, and hopefully we can cope with players missing now in a similar way and come out with the right result.”
