Tomáš Souček: We have to carry on like this

Tomáš Souček says West Ham United need to keep up their relentless mindset as they prepare to take on Tottenham Hotspur at London Stadium on Sunday.

The Hammers head into the London derby on the back of successive victories over Everton and KRC Genk across the Premier League and Europe, and the Czech Republic midfielder is determined to keep up that challenge on all fronts.

With eight wins under their belts already this season across all competitions, Souček just wants to keep on tasting victory - especially against the Irons' local rivals this weekend.

"I want to do the maximum in each competition and we are only at the start," the No28 said. "We want to be successful and the Europa League is a big competition for us. West Ham didn't play in it for a long time so we have the chance to play and we want to be successful.

"I hope we go as far as possible because in every competition when I start I want to finish first, also in the Premier League or FA Cup or Carabao Cup.

"For us it's been a great start in Europe - three wins in three games, but I remember how hard the Europa League is from my former team, so for us it's a big thing to be first in the group with nine points.

"It's not easy because we've had three very difficult opponents so we are very happy to be in the position we are, but we still have the second half to go. It's only three games and now we have to keep going in the same way for the second three games."

In every competition when I start I want to finish first, also in the Premier League or FA Cup or Carabao Cup

Tomáš Souček

Souček's performance against Genk on Thursday was particularly impressive given that he had only four days earlier received stitches in the facial wounds he suffered in the victory at Everton. His determination to not miss a moment was clear for all to see.

"I had a bad injury four days ago, but the doctor and the guys did a great job on me and I still wanted to play the last 15 minutes against Everton, but we had to do the substitution because it might have taken seven minutes to do the stitches," he explained.

"I did everything to recover and make sure I could play on Thursday. I'm happy that everything went well and I could play like normal."

Souček concluded with praise for Jarrod Bowen, whose second goal of the season set the seal on Thursday's victory over the Belgian Cup winners.

"Jarrod is an important player for us," he added. "He plays a lot and does incredible things. I'm happy that he scored on Thursday because it's important for his confidence.

"We need these kind of players, good in one-against-ones, who can create chances and he's very important for our team."