Mohammed Kudus has called on his West Ham United teammates to produce a positive reaction to the narrow UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg defeat at SC Freiburg, as they finalise preparations for Sunday’s visit of Burnley back in the Premier League.
Substitute Michael Gregoritsch notched a late winner for the hosts at the Stadion am Wolfswinkel on Thursday night, giving German outfit Freiburg a slender advantage ahead of the return fixture at London Stadium next week.
With a home clash against the Clarets first up, Kudus stressed the need to focus on stretching a winning run in the league to three games, in order to regain confidence and momentum on all fronts.
The Hammers are in the hunt to qualify for a fourth successive season of European football, with recent victories over Brentford and Everton bringing a six-game winless run to an end and lifting the Club up to seventh in the standings.
Vincent Kompany’s Burnley meanwhile are eleven points adrift of safety in 19th, but will be full of fight and desire as they look for a first win of 2024 that they hope can inspire a route out of trouble.
Kudus said: “It was a very difficult game against Freiburg, and we’re all disappointed with the result.
“They scored a late goal to win it, in what was a very tight match. We had more energy after half-time and we went out to win, but we weren’t able to find that moment of magic.
“I think we can do better defensively, and as well we need to play more, be better on the ball and create more chances. We know what we need to improve and we’ll be ready to go again back at home against Burnley.
“We’re hopeful of being much better in the next game, and then it’s back to the Europa League where there’s still everything to play for. We believe we have what it takes to get the job done.”
