West Ham United defender Jose Fonte has issued a warning to his teammates ahead of the clash with fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Fonte has been part of a new-look Hammers side which has proved a tougher nut to crack of late after a disastrous start to the season.
Three defeats at the beginning of the campaign saw speculation rife that co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold were ready to replace Slaven Bilic.
But back-to-back Premier League clean sheets in a 2-0 win over Huddersfield and a 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion have lifted the gloom that had been gathering around the club.
Fonte has been criticised for his performances since his £8million move from Southampton in January.
But he has looked a lot more comfortable on the right hand side of a three and the Euro 2016 winner’s performances has improved as a result.
West Ham have good memories of home matches against Spurs in recent seasons, ending the North Londoners’ title chances in successive campaigns, the latest a 1-0 win at the London Stadium back in May.
However, despite West Ham’s improved form of late, Fonte has explained on the club’s official website why his teammates must be wary of Spurs ahead of Saturday’s crunch London derby clash.
“We look forward to it,” Fonte told West Ham TV.
“Its a massive game with what happened in the last few years with the competition and the derby between us.
“We ruined their title chances last year (so) they’ll be up for it I think and we’ll be up for it for sure.
“We’re at home and we’ll have our fans behind us and if we bring the same intensity and that spirit then we are unbeatable.”
Manuel Lanzini got the only goal of the game back in May but the tricky Argentine won’t feature against his compatriot Mauricio Pochettino.
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