Ahead of West Ham United's Premier League derby with Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon, Aaron Cresswell has The Last Word...
The Newcastle game is gone. We can’t dwell on it. We have to move on.
It’s not normally like us to get beat in that manner but we can’t sit on it. We are in a position where the next game is important and we have to focus on Fulham.
This is my ninth year at West Ham. And while we have been in this situation before, it is disappointing to be here with ten games to go.
Yes, we’ve had a relegation battle before, but it is frustrating – because we have finished sixth and seventh over the past two years – and we know we are better than this.
Over the past days, we've discussed how we need to stay together after Newcastle. And how we need to stay focused and put all our energy into Saturday’s game against Fulham.
Every game that we have now is a massive game because it’s really tight at the bottom of the table. There are three or four teams with a matter of three or four points between them.
It's close but we have to stay positive. With ten games to go, we have to focus on ourselves and get out of it.
With the group of players we have got, the results this season are not through a lack of effort. The lads give everything in each session and match.
Everyone is really together, and we have nine or ten games, that are massive games, and we need to put all our energy into it. Each fixture is full of pressure and there are some tough games to come too, but we have to go into every game now with the belief we can get maximum points, whoever we play.
I am sure the fans have heard it before, but we all have to stick together now. If we do that we have a much better chance of firstly surviving the drop, and also going as far as we can in the Europa Conference League.
Everyone is fighting together. At the end of the day, the manager isn’t the one on the pitch. As players, we have to look at ourselves and take full responsibility.
We have done that over the past couple of days. And now, we have to be professional and get the job done against Fulham.
