James Collins has explained that West Ham are bracing for a tough fixture against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium tonight, but the defender insisted that his side have the squad to defeat the Cherries.

Bournemouth, who edged out the Hammers 4-3 in the corresponding fixture at Upton Park in August, are unbeaten in their last three home fixtures.




On the other hand, West Ham have not tasted defeat in their last eight outings in all competitions.

And Collins, who underlined the importance of West Ham maintaining their good run heading into an important part of the season, wants his side to accumulate as many points as possible during the period.
 


“It’s another tough game”, he told the club’s official site.

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“They came here early in the season and beat us 4-3, they struggled a little bit after that but they’re back on track now. They’re quite a force at home so it’s going to be difficult.

“But saying that, the quality of this squad is the best I’ve been involved with. We’ve got games coming up that, no disrespect to anyone, but with the squad we’ve got we know we can win. The injured players are coming back so it’s an exciting time.

“We’re approaching a very important part of the season, we’ve come through the Christmas period well but it’s important we maintain our focus, it’s a chance to pick up a lot of points in a short space of time.”

West Ham, who edged out Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 in the FA Cup at the weekend to extend their winning run to three games in all competitions, are currently sixth in the Premier League 32 points from 20 games, just four adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.