Ben Johnson is determined that West Ham United do not allow a memorable 2021/22 season to peter out.
The Hammers have their fate in their own hands in both the Premier League and UEFA Europa League, with a top-six finish in the former and a place in the final of the latter within their grasp.
However, the Academy of Football graduate knows the Irons will need to up their performance levels and take their chances if they are to avoid disappointment and the prospect of looking back on what might have been come the end of May.
Talking to West Ham TV following Thursday’s 2-1 Europa League semi-final first-leg defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt and ahead of Sunday’s Premier League visit of Arsenal to London Stadium, Johnson spoke with typical maturity and clarity.
At the age of 22, the defender, whose start against the German side was his 55th appearance for his boyhood Club, illustrated again the leadership qualities that saw him captain the Hammers at youth and development level and have seen him earn the faith of manager David Moyes to play in the biggest game of the season so far…
Johno, it was a game of fine margins and one we could have won, could have drawn but ultimately ended up losing 2-1, but the tie is far from over…
“Of course it’s not over. We’ve got another 90 minutes to play, so we’re optimistic of course and we’re confident we can do it for sure.
“It’s very strange conceding in the first minute, but sometimes it happens and, although we didn’t lose confidence, it made us think ‘Wow’. We weren’t chasing the game, but we knew we had to score.
“We then had momentum for the first half and got a goal back and we thought they were there for the taking, but unfortunately it didn’t work like that. Nothing quite happened for us, as you saw with Jarrod’s bicycle kick at the end, it was a spectacular strike and unfortunately it didn’t go in and we didn’t get the goal the piece of skill deserved.
“So I think it’s always fine margins. They’re a good side and no mugs, of course, but we’ve got to look onto Thursday and in the dressing room we all believe we’re good enough to get to the final, so hopefully we can put in a great performance next week and do that.”
We hit the woodwork three times and created plenty of chances, so there is plenty of reason for optimism that we can turn things around in Germany?
“Yes, that’s the thing. It’s the first experience for me, but the Boss has been there and done it and knows that although we of course wanted to win the first leg, we have seen what they have and the tools that they have. [Filip] Kostić is a very good player and [Daichi] Kamada, as is the boy up front (Rafael Santos Borré), so we know what we’re up against and fortunately we’ve got another chance to rectify this result.
“It’s obviously disappointing for the fans, but we’ve got another game and we’re obviously optimistic about that and we’re going to be looking forward to that and analysing. We’ve got a week now to prepare and we’re going to do everything we can.”
You mention Kostić and Kamada and what a test facing them is for you personally. You’ve played over 50 games now, but you’re still developing and learning from new experiences like playing in a European semi-final…
“Yeah, of course, it’s a great feat but of course I want to go one better and one better again. For me personally it’s great to play in these games and we’ve got a good team and we are good enough and it would be a waste if we didn’t get to the final at least, so we’re just going to try our all and give 100 per cent.
“You could see out there [on Thursday night] we are very composed, but there are times football doesn’t go your way. There have been so many games this season when things have gone our way and some in which it hasn’t and one of those was [Thursday] night, so hopefully it goes our way next Thursday.”
While the Europa League final is one target, another is to ensure we qualify for Europe through our Premier League position again, so we need to finish strong and create a big atmosphere at London Stadium for our two remaining home games, don’t we?
“Definitely. I think there have been opportunities in the league where things have gone our way and we’ve not done our job and now we’re sitting in seventh when we could be fifth or comfortable in sixth, so the Premier League games are so important.
“That’s the league we’re going to be in hopefully for many more years to come, so we’re just going to continue to play in the league and continue to do well and give our all in both competitions while we’re in them.
“We’ve got to focus because we want to be in the Europa League again. Our aim is to be in the Champions League [through winning the Europa League] too, so we’ve got to go one better and step it up again next Thursday, while also focusing on the Premier League as well to cement that Europa League place at least for next season.”
