Declan Rice has urged his West Ham team to get back-up on their feet following their 2-0 defeat to Everton on Saturday.
Speaking to the club’s official website, the England international admitted that the Irons were awful in their loss at Goodison Park on the weekend in a game that saw the Hammers register just eight shots compared to Everton’s 19 as stats from BBC Sport show, and a lack of points saw West Ham slip behind the pack all aiming for a finish in the Premier League top-seven.
Rice said: “We know we need to perform better than we did at the weekend. You have to be honest and it was shocking, we let the fans down, we let ourselves down. We reviewed the game and watching it back was tough because we all know we’re not those players.”
Despite having their chances, with Jordan Pickford being forced to make a great save on Angelo Ogbonna in the second-half from a corner, the Hammers were simply not at the races on Merseyside and deservedly were on the losing side of a game that Manuel Pellegrini and his side knew was theirs for the taking.
Yet despite the loss to a team that before Saturday had lost their past four Premier League games in a row, Rice remained confident that West Ham can bounce back at Sheffield United, who head to the London Stadium off the back of beating Arsenal 1-0 on Monday night.
The 6’1” defensive midfielder said” “One win puts us back towards fifth, sixth position. We need to stay positive and we need everyone behind us on Saturday to be that twelfth man and push us on.”
With Tottenham playing Liverpool and Burnley hosting Chelsea, favourable results could see West Ham get back on track in their quest to claim a European spot in the Premier League table, and Rice’s rallying cry can be used as a good source of motivation for the Irons squad.
