West Ham United midfielder Stewart Downing feels that his side’s recent six-match winless streak was a mere blip in form and adds that Sam Allardyce's men still have the potential to find a spot in the Europa League come the season’s end.
The Hammers defeated Sunderland 1-0 in their last Premier League fixture at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday; the win sees the London outfit in ninth spot in the table.
Prior to their victory over relegation contenders Sunderland, the Hammers had lost their last three matches to slip in the league standings which seriously undermined their hopes of finding a spot in Europe’s second tier competition.
But Downing, who joined West Ham in the summer of 2013, feels that his side were merely going through a rough patch, like all teams do over the course of a season, saying that the Hammers are now past their poor run of form.
“All teams have dips in the season and ours was over the period we’ve just had”, he told the club site.
relatedNewsStory
“Obviously you can’t play well every week and I don’t think it was about that on Saturday, it was just about getting the point”, he added.
The Englishman further added that the Hammers' upcoming games, which are against the teams in the bottom half of the table, give Allardyce’s side hope of challenging for a spot in Europe.
“We’re ninth with a lot to play for.
“We have still got Stoke to play and we’ve got Leicester away next, so there are a lot of winnable games for us to pick up points from and Europe is still an option.
“I think Europe is still there. If you look at the games we have got to play, I think there are a lot of points to pick up.
“Our aim this year is to get in Europe. I don’t think tenth place is good enough. We need to aim higher than that and I think we’ve got the players to do it.”
Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.
