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No jolly boys outing but Irons fans expect beside the sea!

 

CandH blogger Allen Cummings looks ahead to a Friday night with no glamour or glitz but one of great importance on the south coast.

 

We’re all still basking in the glory of last Saturday’s magnificent victory over Manchester United. Why wouldn’t we be – it was that good?

But being the ultra-professional we all know he is, that’s water under the bridge for Manuel Pellegrini and his sights will now be set firmly on the next hurdle in his revitalisation of West Ham. Brighton away this coming Friday.

Not quite the glamorous appeal of our last two televised games at the London Stadium against Chelsea and Manchester United but every bit as important.

I’ve lost count of how many times in the past I’ve seen my beloved Hammers put in an outstanding performance against one of the so-called elite  only to struggle the next time out against a far less fashionable outfit.

With no disrespect to the Seagulls, they very much fit the bill of potential villains. They don’t have the multi-million pound stars , nor is their game built around individual brilliance or celebrity appeal.

With them it’s far more about the coupling of genuine team spirit and sheer hard work, an effective blend when you get it right – and that’s what makes them particularly dangerous.

Chris Hughton is a shrewd manager. He knows what works for him and his team and he’ll have them up and ready. It will certainly be no seaside ‘Jolly Boys Outing’ for us on Friday that’s for sure.

We suffered twice at the hands of Brighton last season – their first season back in the Premier League. An embarrassing 3-0 defeat at the London Stadium in October was followed up by a 3-1 reverse at the Amex in February.

I remember that encounter for being particularly toxic, with unrest amongst our own fans from the start, first directed towards our board – and then the players for such an inept display.

This Friday has to be different – a different attitude from the supporters and a different mindset from the players. I have no doubt we will see both.

Pellegrini looks to have hit upon his best team and most effective formation. Confidence has soared in the side since we broke the ice at Everton. Suddenly there is a strut and a swagger about the players, an intensity in their play, a belief in their ability and in the way they are being asked to play.

The brakes have come off, the team is on a roll and the results have followed. We have a solidarity in defence, a determination and creativity in midfield and an explosive flair in attack.

All these ingredients are present in  team very much on the way up. As Lukasz Fabianski says: “ We have to continue to keep focused and work hard and get as much as we can from every single game.”

Three more points on the south coast on Friday and we’ll be flirting with a mid-table position that looked a million miles away just a few games ago.

 

About Hugh5outhon1895

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

One comment on “No jolly boys outing but Irons fans expect beside the sea!

  1. Let’s not get carried away . We have improved by a country mile , which is obvious and undeniable . However , we should never be losing to a team like Brighton , not last season or any season . We should all be expecting three point’s especially now considering the form the team are currently in . But having been a Hammers fan all my life I still feel edgy about Friday night . If we can overcome our history of beating big teams and then succumbing to smaller teams then We can say we’ve turned the corner . Away to Brighton is a Massive game to keep our improvement on track .
    COYHAMMERS

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