Mateus Fernandes has just said the four words all West Ham fans to hear before Man United clash
Mateus Fernandes uttered the four words every West Ham supporter would have wanted to hear before Thursday’s trip to Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United.
Though they say that ‘actions speak louder than words’ for a very good reason.
How many times this season already have West Ham United failed to walk the walk, after spending much of the pre-match build up talking the talk? While Fulham for example seem to have a happy habit of bloodying the noses of the Premier League’s big boys, West Ham’s record against the division’s traditional giants has been pretty abysmal in recent times.
They have lost against Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Liverpool this term by an aggregate score of 12-1.
No wonder Nuno Espirito Santo is demanding improvements ahead of that trip to Old Trafford. They could not really play much worse, at least from an attacking perspective, than they did when Arne Slot’s beleaguered champions came to town a few days ago.
And Mateus Fernandes should have a big role to play away to Man United, at both ends of the pitch for that matter. And he at least appears to know what is required if the Hammers are to consign Ruben Amorim to another embarrassing home loss.
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
West Ham will need to ‘fight for every ball’ against Manchester United, Mateus Fernandes says
Mateus Fernandes has created the joint-most chances of any West Ham player this season, level with Lucas Paqueta on 14. Considering that Nuno will be without Paqueta tonight due to suspension, the Portugal Under-21 captain will have to take the creative burden on his own shoulders.
Somewhat surprisingly, Fernandes also sits atop the charts with the most tackles won per game this season, an average of 2.2. He clearly appreciates the importance of sticking the boot in and winning second balls, even if the importance of this appears to have been lost on some of his teammates of late.
“We try to look to the next game [with the aim of] winning every one,” Fernandes tells the club’s official website. “We know it’s difficult in the Premier League, but we have the quality in our squad to play and to win many more games.
Watch everything Nuno had to say before Man United vs West Ham. What needs to change to get a result at Old Trafford?
“It was a tough match against Liverpool, but we managed to compete well for large spells. Unfortunately we didn’t achieve the result we wanted, but the feeling was that we competed until the last minute.
“I think we played well offensively, but we needed to make better decisions in the final third. The accuracy of our passes, shots and combinations just wasn’t quite there.
That’s what we have to look for on Thursday. We continue to work on the training field through repetition, and by trying to innovate as well. It requires that, because if things aren’t working, we have to change.”
– Nuno on his plans for Man United
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“Now we have a difficult away game at Manchester United. We know it, but we go there to win the game and to try to fight for every ball.”
‘Fight for every ball’; the four words which will surely underpin a statement West Ham victory, if indeed Nuno’s visitors do follow up that 2-0 win in March with another Old Trafford triumph nine months on.
Lessons must be learned from that AFC Bournemouth draw
Fernandes is also keen to avoid a repeat of that Bournemouth collapse. Nuno needed an ‘incredible’ Alphonse Areola performance to save West Ham from snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory on the South Coast.
In a call which appeared to backfire, Nuno made what Hammers legend Tony Gale called a ‘strange decision’ when replacing Fernandes late on. A substitution which served to deny West Ham of any remaining attacking outlets, while seeing them pinned back inside their own penalty area.
A combined XI of players who represented both West Ham and Man United; Where would this team finish in the Premier League?
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“We need to look at the match against Bournemouth,” Fernandes says. “It was a difficult game. We were winning 2-0, and we tried to defend. They played very well in the second half, but we need to try to play forward when we win the ball.
“We need to be more consistent on our game.
“Like I said, we need to be ready for this game. In the Premier League every game is so hard, so we need to get points and try to win the games.”
Nuno Espirito Santo knows what must chance against Ruben Amorim’s side
Ruben Amorim is backing Nuno to get West Ham pushing up the table again. As disappointing and deflating as that Liverpool reverse was, the Hammers still have seven points from the last 12 available.
Mateus Fernandes will reunite with Amorim at Old Trafford too, a year-and-a-half after the former Sporting Lisbon boss reluctantly accepted his £15 million sale to Southampton.
“Each game is a new story,” Nuno said in his pre-match press conference.
“We have to improve many things. I think we played good in terms of offensive play. We tried to do the same things but [we needed] a better decision in the final third; the accuracy of the pass, the shot, the combination.
“That’s what we expect to happen on Thursday, that we achieve good moments and we finish our actions. It makes a big difference when the players realise that after such a good combination, which is hard, the final action is not there.
“That is what we have to look for.”
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