West Ham have, at times, been said to suffer from a small club mentality when facing the top sides, but Javier Hernandez has shared concerns on the club’s official website that the Hammers also take the so-called lesser sides too lightly.
The divisive striker’s comments come in the wake of our dismal defeat at Cardiff, where, despite controlling the game, we failed to make the pressure count.
It was an excellent chance for us to close the gap on Wolves and Watford in the race for seventh, and stand an outside chance of qualifying for next season’s Europa League.
Now Manuel Pellegrini must prepare his side to face another relegation candidate in Huddersfield, who Hernandez feels should not be taken lightly if we are to fight for a UEFA competition spot.
“When you want to be in Europe, you need to think like the top clubs and need to have that consistency,” claims the Mexican. “You don’t need to think that if you are playing against teams who are fighting relegation that it will be a bit easier or that, if you’re playing against a top club you have nothing to lose.
“Those are the sort of traps you need to avoid, and when you are a big club you don’t get involved with. You need to think and perform in the same way in every game so that, if you win, you are the best or if you lose, you are the worst.
“That mindset needs to change in this club and we need to do that between now and the end of the season and, if we can do that, we can still get seventh position.
“It doesn’t matter if we are playing against Liverpool or Manchester City or Cardiff or Huddersfield, we need to do our best and need to know that it’s going to be very hard.”
For a member of the squad to admit that the dressing room has a mindset problem is very worrying, as it is not something that can be changed immediately. It takes time, and we do not have time if we are to qualify for Europe this season.
