Amber Tysiak has called on West Ham United women’s team to stick together as they prepare to face Arsenal in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday afternoon.
The Hammers head into the fixture looking for a turn in fortunes, having lost their last five matches in the competition.
Rehanne Skinner's team make the short journey to Meadow Park for the 2pm kick off, and will be hoping to produce an improved performance against the Gunners.
Last time out, Tysiak and her teammates lost out to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Continental Tyres League Cup, and the Belgian defender says that the team have to move forward with another fixture coming so quickly after the fact.
“Wednesday was disappointing,” Tysiak told whufc.com. “Overall, our performance wasn’t good enough and we all know that we can do a lot better. We have to demand more from ourselves as teammates to push the level of the performances.
“We have to move forward now, it’s over and in the past and we have a new game to focus on. We’ve had good sessions over the last couple of days and now we’re looking forward to being back out on the pitch on Sunday against Arsenal.
“We have positives that we’re able to take with us into the game, and we have plenty of things that we know that we need to improve on.”
It's been the small details that have cost the Hammers in recent times, and Tysiak and her teammates are aware that performance have been largely positive, yet they are not coming away with results.
The 23-year-old says that the team have spoken about the importance of sticking together ahead of Sunday's London derby.
“As a group after the Brighton game, we came together and spoke about how important it is that we stick together. Everyone is on the same page; we all know that we have to work hard to move forward.
“Everyone has been disappointed with the results that we’ve picked up recently. This is one of the best leagues in the world, so we know that the little details are going to be punished if we’re not making sure that we’re performing at our very best.
“We have to support and help each other to get through this period and come out of the other side stronger."
Tysiak herself has been back in the side consistently in recent weeks after overcoming an injury sustained in pre-season in the early stages of the campaign.
Her minutes were managed against the Seagulls, as she was replaced by Hawa Cissoko at half time, with Skinner having one eye on the WSL clash with the Gunners.
Tysiak says that playing three games in a week is still a relatively new experience for her, but that she is pleased that another game is just around the corner.
“Playing three matches in one week is still quite a new experience for me. In Belgium at my old club, we didn’t ever have any more than two games.
"It can be tough on the body, but as players you have to manage yourself properly and make sure that you’re looking after yourself.
“Everyone loves playing matches, so that’s the positive. We all want to get back out there and put in and improved performance."
