Tessel Middag said West Ham United must get back to working as hard as possible during training and find confidence in order to return to winning ways.
The Irons were beaten 8-0 away at Chelsea in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League on Sunday, and the Dutch international acknowledged that the players let themselves down in the defeat.
“It’s hard to find the words to describe this loss,” Middag told whufc.com. “We conceded goals quite early in the game, so it felt like we were out of the match quite early on.
“We said to each other at half-time ‘it’s 3-0 but we know what can happen in football’. If we could have scored the next goal, then who knows what could have happened. But as soon as they got the fourth that was the game lost for us.
“It was really frustrating and disappointing. We want to play better for ourselves as individuals, for the team and, of course, for the fans. We want to show the supporters even more so they can be proud of us. It was very disappointing because we set ourselves very high goals at the beginning of the season and, as long as we’re not living up to those expectations we have of ourselves, it’s hard to take.”
Up next for West Ham is a home match against Manchester City, and Middag knows that the Irons are in for another difficult test against a team that, like Chelsea, is competing at the top of the Barclays FA WSL.
The 27-year-old believes the side must work hard and grow in confidence so that positive results return to Rush Green Stadium.
She added: “We know our previous results against Manchester City so it’s really important for us to stay compact when we’re out of possession and make it a difficult game for them.
“We need to grow in confidence on the ball. What we have to do now, as professionals, is keep working hard, stay positive and do what we can to get better performances and results as soon as possible.”
