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The second leg: Declan knows we fans can be the answer

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By CandH’s top blogger Allen Cummings

The travelling Claret and Blue Army were singing loud and proud on Thursday evening in Seville.

They couldn’t have given the team any more encouragement and support than they did from the packed away terrace in the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.

As skipper Declan Rice commented after the game: “Everyone was buzzing – the lads, the manager and you could feel it from the fans. It was a special night in that sense.”

The 1-0 defeat was disappointing because most of us Hammers felt the overall performance deserved more. But it is what it is and there is still so much to play for, and West Ham fans at the London Stadium next week will have a significant part to play in the final outcome of this tie.

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A great deal was said originally about the atmosphere at the new ground, in comparison to the old Boleyn – much of it critical . To be fair, under Slaven Bilic and Manuel Pellegrini there was very little to cheer about.

But under David Moyes things have been very different.

Since we have all been allowed back in after the ‘bans’ around Covid, Moyes’ teams have really given us something to get excited about.

We have come a very long way as a club and a fan base since that infamous pitch invasion and protest four years ago on the 10th March 2018.

A full house with fans in full voice can produce an atmosphere capable of having a significant effect on players – and make a massive contribution to the way they perform.

I’m reminded of a similar European occasion back in 1976, when John Lyall’s Hammers faced a formidable Eintracht Frankfurt side, who came to the east end defending a 2-1 lead from the first leg of our European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final.

With a place in the final at stake, despite the torrential rain, Upton Park was red hot that night – the glow could be seen and the noise could be heard for miles.

The normally ice cool and efficient Germans wilted by what confronted them – West Ham took control and won the game 3-1 going through on aggregate.

We need to re-create that special atmosphere under the lights once again. There were almost 40,000 squeezed into Upton Park that night. With 60,000 inside the London Stadium next Thursday we need to show the atmosphere can compete with what it used to be.

Declan has every faith in the home fans being even more vocal and supportive than in Seville.

“We know our stadium is going to be rocking,” he said. Let’s prove him right.

We’ve already shown this season at home, with the crowd fully behind them, West Ham are a formidable force for even the very best teams.

Victories over Chelsea and Liverpool were played out amid amazing atmospheres. We need another just like those – even better if that’s possible – and that place in the next round could be ours.

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Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!"

Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon