West Ham United have come together as a team over the past couple of weeks.
Hammers star Michail Antonio opened up on how he and his teammates reacted to Dimitri Payet’s refusal to play for the club a fortnight ago, when speaking live on Soccer AM, broadcast on Saturday January 28th.
West Ham have reeled off back-to-back victories in the Premier League, and completed the signings of Jose Fonte and Robert Snodgrass over the past two weeks, and for the first time this season, there is a genuine feeling of optimism emanating from the club.
And Antonio told Soccer AM how the squad as a whole made a concerted effort to turn what could have been a negative effect into a positive one, following Payet’s transfer request:
West Ham United’s Michail Antonio in action
“All the negativity happening outside – people talking about Dimitri and what he’s done – people are forgetting that there is a squad there. We dug in together and decided to bring positivity after the negativity there’s been. The only time I’ve spoken to him was when were in the training ground. I haven’t really spoken to him. He hasn’t really been in the training ground so I haven’t had the opportunity to speak to him.”
West Ham United’s Michail Antonio in action
Due to their early exit from the FA Cup, Slaven Bilic’s men have to wait until Wednesday night for their next match – a home game against Manchester City.
And if they manage a win over Pep Guardiola’s under-fire team, Hammers fans will really start to believe that they can once again compete for a place inside the top seven of the Premier League.
That will be easier said than done, however, with the Citizens easily capable of producing the kind of form that saw them beat West Ham 5-0 at the Olympic Stadium just three weeks ago.
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