Dinos Mavropanos says he and his West Ham United team-mates are eager for Saturday’s London derby clash against Brentford to get under way so they can banish the memories of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool by getting straight back to winning ways.
The Greek has called for patience as the Hammers bid to climb the Premier League table, insisting that their early season form is nothing more than a blip.
Julen Lopetegui’s side sit 14th ahead of Saturday’s game at Gtech Community Stadium after taking four points from their opening five matches, and Mavropanos says that with so much of the season still to be played, it is important to remain calm about the task in hand and believes the Irons will eventually be rewarded with results.
“We were all angry and disappointed with last weekend, but it’s just the start of the season, and we have to keep positive. We always need our fans next to us, as always,” said Mavropanos.
“It [Chelsea] was a game that we want to forget and was not the performance we wanted to make. It’s important to put it in the past, learn from our mistakes and put it right into the next game. I don’t think we defended well enough in some situations, and although we created some chances in the second half, we conceded some disappointing goals.
“He [Julen Lopetegui] has told us the same and that we have to be at our best in each game because there are no easy games in the Premier League and know everyone is here to compete. We are here to compete with these teams and work hard every single day to do this and have a lot of potential.
“When you’re going through a difficult spell, this is when you’ve got to show personality. We understand we have a lot of pressure in our job, so we need to work hard and perform better, and being under pressure is something that I thrive on.
“I watched their [Brentford's] game against Tottenham, and we are going to analyse that game. We have to be ready.
“We don’t have to stress at this moment because there are still plenty of games left and it’s a long way until the end of the season, but of course the sooner we can get points, it is going to help us for the rest of the season. We are targeting to finish as high as we can because when you play for West Ham in Europe, like we have done in recent years, you want to be back in that competition, so that has to be our target.
“We are going to work really hard ahead of the upcoming games, and our target is to bounce back at Brentford this weekend. We go into every game believing we can win. We don’t just go to play; we go to get a result.”
Mavropanos, who could make his 40th appearance in Claret in Blue on Saturday, took some time out to reflect on his journey after becoming a regular starter in defence under the tutelage of Lopetegui.
Back in 2018, a fresh-faced Mavropanos initially moved to England with Arsenal just a month past his 20th birthday, but made just eight appearances across two years with the Gunners before being loaned to German club 1. FC Nürnberg.
However, back in London, having started every Premier League match so far this season, the Greece international is full of confidence and is relishing the opportunity to work with Lopetegui, his coaching staff, and his talented teammates.
“When I arrived here, I didn’t have the experience that I have now," Mavropanos confirmed. “I was a 20-year-old footballer who had come from Greece and was in a totally different environment. I’ve got more experience now, have become a lot more confident and it’s been a great experience. To play for West Ham in the Premier League is a great honour and is something I always wanted to do.
“For me personally, I want to continue to be a starter and work as hard as I can for it, but it is the decision of our manager, but I’ll always give my best. It’s been good to start these games, but at the end of the day, we’ve not had the results we wanted.
“We are working under a new philosophy, and each day we are trying to adapt to his ideas as quick as possible because that will give us the results, so we are working very hard for it and want to do our best. He’s a great coach, has a great mentality, is hungry for success, and for us as players, it is no different—we want to win and want to be successful for this Club.
“He’s tried to help me in every game to minimise mistakes, and we go through each detail after every game, which has helped me to become a better player.
“They [Maximilian Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo] are very good players and are very good people as well. It’s been really good to compete with them because this is what is going to make us better players.
“I think we’ve got a really strong squad, and this helps the team to become better because when there is healthy competition between us, it makes us all become better both individually and collectively. I think we have a very good environment in the whole Club and especially in the dressing room, so I think every player who has come in will feel at home, and we are a family.”
