West Ham United beat Southampton 3-1 on Saturday evening.
West Ham United midfielder Pedro Obiang has told the London Evening Standard of how manager Slaven Bilic spoke to his players on Saturday.
The Hammers travelled to take on Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium on Saturday afternoon, and were looking to respond having been thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City on Wednesday evening.
When Manolo Gabbiadini smashed Southampton in front, it looked like West Ham were set for another defeat, but they responded perfectly with goals from Andy Carroll, Pedro Obiang and Mark Noble.
West Ham United’s Pedro Obiang in action with Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse
A 3-1 win was just what West Ham needed after their humiliation against Manchester City, and was the third time in four games that they had scored three times in a victory.
Obiang’s goal in the victory was the first time that he has found the net for West Ham since joining from Sampdoria in 2015, and continues his fine recent form.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
The Spaniard has impressed in midfield with Mark Noble, and he spoke to the London Evening Standard after game, discussing how happy he is having picked himself back up following the defeat to City.
Obiang revealed that Bilic told his players to show character and be compact against Southampton, and after clinching the win, the Croatian was delighted with the character on show.
Obiang claims that Bilic added that West Ham must continue to play in the same way, then anything could happen – and with West Brom coming up this weekend, West Ham will be looking for a similar result.
“Before the Southampton game the manager emphasised that we are a good team but that we must show character and be compact. It’s the same with any game but this was different because the City match was so bad. When they scored their first goal, our heads went down.”
“Against Southampton, they also scored first but our reaction was different and after the game the boss said: ‘This is the character we need to show. We need to keep going and you never know what might happen.’ The Manchester City result was tough to take. The manager took me off in the second half and there were many things for me to think about but now I am happy,” he added.
What did you think of West Ham’s performance against Southampton?
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