Defender Dinos Mavropanos is hopeful he can play a key role in a successful end to the season for West Ham United, having grown into a regular starting berth under manager David Moyes.
The 26-year-old was initially forced to be patient for his chance following his arrival from VfB Stuttgart last summer, but the 2-0 home win over Manchester United just before Christmas marked the start of five successive starts in the Premier League, while more recently he has completed 90 minutes in each of the last six top-flight outings.
As he continues to develop his familiarity with skipper Kurt Zoma and the rest of the Hammers backline, Mavropanos believes there were plenty of positives to take from Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at London Stadium.
A tough trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers awaits Moyes’ men next as they look to build momentum ahead of a crucial few weeks, and after watching on from the bench during December’s reverse fixture, the Greece international is eager to make his mark.
“When you join a new Club it sometimes takes a bit of time to get used to the manager’s philosophy and to get to know your teammates on the pitch,” Mavropanos said. “But now I feel really good.
“From my first day here David Moyes has helped me adapt. He’s a great manager and he always does his best for the team, and I’m really happy to have been able to play the last few games in a row for him.
“After the disappointment at Newcastle last week, it was important we showed a response against Spurs, and I think we put in a good performance. Maybe we could have got the win, but we were pleased with the point overall.
“Now we want to go one better when we play again at Wolves. They are fighting for European qualification like us, so we know it’s not going to be easy, but every game in this league is tough so we will be ready.
“I think the team put in a good display in the last game against Wolves in December, and Mohammed Kudus got two goals quite quickly. It would be good to play a bigger role this time and try to help replicate the 3-0 win from that day.”
Three points at Molineux would serve as a major boost to West Ham’s hopes of securing a fourth successive season of continental competition, while also hampering the hopes of a side currently just four spots and three points below them in the standings.
Starting each of the Irons’ eight UEFA Europa League clashes this term has been among Mavropanos’ many highlights in Claret and Blue so far, and he is looking forward to making many more memories going forward.
He added: “Scoring against Arsenal in December was a special moment for me. It was special anyway going to my former club, but to get my first West Ham goal at the Emirates is something I’ll never forget.
“There have been lots of good memories so far, and our run in Europe is up there too. It’s clear we want to qualify again, and we have important games in the Premier League and the Europa League coming up.
“When the schedule is so busy it’s important to build momentum so you can go into games with more energy. Hopefully if we can pick up a result against Wolves that will help us against Bayer Leverkusen and then back in the league.”
