Ajibola Alese says confidence is running high in the West Ham United U23s’ squad ahead of Sunday’s Premier League 2 trip to Liverpool.
The developmental side claimed a sensational 5-1 win over Leeds United on Monday in the Premier League Cup round of 16, returning to winning ways after a frustrating league defeat to Blackburn last Friday.
With the Irons returning to Premier League 2 action on Sunday, Alese says the Hammers are in a good place ahead of their match with the Reds.
The U23s captain knows that Sunday’s opponents will be a tough test but is confident of three points on the road.
“It wasn’t the best result when we played Blackburn so to get a good result against Leeds was really positive,” Alese told whufc.com. “It was a good performance, a lot of good individual performances as well, and a few goals, which we deserved. It was such a good win for morale.
“Wins like that are big for confidence and we need results like that to build confidence. We’ll need confidence against Liverpool on Sunday and games like the Leeds one are perfect to build that up.
“We know Liverpool will be a tough game. We’re excited for the challenge but we also know we’ve got the quality to get the win. We know they will be good but if we play our best, we can match them and beat them.”
The visit to Liverpool marks the first of West Ham’s final three Premier League 2 matches, with a trip to Everton and a home match against Derby County to end the season.
Alese is hopeful of adding maximum points from the last three fixtures as the Hammers seek to put pressure on Manchester City at the top of the table.
The centre-back added: “Between now and the end of the season, we just want to win every game and put in the best performances we possibly can.
“We want to see where that can take us, whether that is to the top of the league or even further in the Premier League Cup.”
