Joint-Chairman David Sullivan pays tribute to two Hammers and looks ahead to an important week...
I would like to start this week by paying tribute to two special people who have sadly passed away in recent days, taken from us by the evil disease that is cancer.
Peter Brabrook was a member of our greatest team, a team that won the FA Cup for the first time in the Club’s history in 1964, won the European Cup Winners’ Cup and reached the League Cup final.
Peter played for England at the World Cup at the age of 21, and a player who thrilled West Ham United fans like me with his exciting wing play. He later returned to the Club as an Academy coach and scout, helping to develop some of the best players we have ever produced.
Jack Howard was just 12 when he passed away. A huge Hammers fan, Jack bravely fought the disease with the support of his loved ones and the West Ham family.
I would like to express my personal condolences to Peter and Jack’s families at this time. We will pay tribute to them both at Wednesday’s game against Burnley.
I think we are all feeling more positive about our season after Sunday's performance at Liverpool.
Personally, I was impressed with the spirit and togetherness shown by the team after falling behind early on. After what happened late on against Arsenal, some teams would have crumbled after Adam Lallana’s goal, but not West Ham United.
Slaven Bilic and his players can take a lot of pride from what they achieved against Liverpool, who have been thrashing teams at home this season.
Instead of going into their shells and feeling sorry for themselves, they showed what playing for West Ham is all about. We tightened things up at the back, pressed them all over the pitch as a team scored two great goals. We deserved to be winning at half-time.
It was a shame that we conceded after the break, but Darren Randolph shrugged off the disappointment of his mistake to make an absolutely world-class save from Jordan Henderson.
Make no mistake about it, getting a draw at Anfield was important for the confidence and belief in the squad – and sets us up for two vital home matches this week.
We welcome Burnley and Hull City to London Stadium and we will need every one of you behind the team as we seek six points that would take us nearer to where we want to be in the Premier League table.
Tickets are available for both matches – Burnley on our Ticket Exchange and Hull to our Season Ticket Holders, Claret Members and fans on the Priority List – and I would strongly urge you to buy now if you want to be here to cheer the team on.
As I said last week, we are a real force to be reckoned with when we are all pulling in the same direction – we showed that at Liverpool, at Manchester United, at Crystal Palace and at home to Chelsea.
These two matches will go a long way to shaping our season and we need a full house right behind the players to give us the best possible chance of securing the points we need.
I can assure you we are all determined to end a historic year for West Ham United on a high.