Declan Rice had mixed emotions as he reflected on West Ham United’s hard-fought point at Southampton on Tuesday night.
While he was delighted that the Hammers kept a first clean sheet since defeating Sheffield United 1-0 at the end of November and nullified a Saints side that has shown plenty of attacking potency in 2020/21, he was nevertheless a tad disappointed they couldn’t go on to claim all three points.
Chances were hard to come by for both sides on a frosty night on the south coast, but Rice said there were plenty of positives to take into his team’s first game of the New Year at Everton on Friday.
Asked whether he would look back at the St Mary’s point as one gained or two lost, the England midfielder responded: “It’s a bit of both to be honest. We know Southampton are a top side – they’ve showed that last season and at the start of this season.
“It’s always a tough place to come, with the intensity that they play at. Looking back, we got a draw against Brighton in a game we should have gone on to win and we’ve got another draw tonight.
“I think it’s probably two points lost to be honest, we always want to win games and climb up the table.”
Rice was happy with the energy the Hammers showed at Southampton, despite only facing Brighton just over 48 hours previously, and he said they will need exactly the same at Goodison Park on New Year’s Day.
“After having the game the other day, keeping our first clean sheet in seven was what the manager wants,” he added.
“We’ve got to take the positives from that and move onto the next game, which is Everton on Friday.
“I think as a whole, 2020 has been a mixed bag. Being in a relegation battle last season is not what this club’s about. We managed to get out of that and we’ve had a positive start this season.
“We’ve had a bit of a dip in the last couple of games in terms of our results, but that’s football but we’ve got to get onto the next one and try to win that.”