Łukasz Fabiański is adamant that West Ham United can pick up three crucial points when Wolverhampton Wanderers visit London Stadium on Saturday.
The Hammers will take confidence from a battling draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Irons’ last Premier League outing at London Stadium, and will now hope to extend their unbeaten run at home to three matches.
Although the last two Premier League fixtures against Chelsea and Everton saw the Hammers fall to narrow defeats, Fabiański remains upbeat, insisting that the quality of players in the ranks is at the highest level in his five years in east London. The Irons, he says, have the resources to return to winning ways on Saturday.
“It’s too early in the season to talk about [the table],” Fabiański told Sky Sports, who will broadcast Saturday's 5.30pm kick-off live in the UK. “We have added quality [this summer] that shows the Club is trying to move forward and develop into something bigger.
"I think it's more about us clicking in the best way possible [against Wolves]. It's all about good performance, then you know that you're on the right path to where you want to be.
"What we have done in the last two years, the way we progressed as a football club, as a group of players, you still have to be calm about the situation. In terms of the players, we have improved so much - even compared to last season. When it comes to the sort of quality that we have in the changing room; we need to be confident.
"The group of people that we have when it comes to the staff and the players, I think it's unique. It's one of the best I've experienced. I just really enjoy playing for this Club, working with people at this Club.”
But football is about small margins, and the Hammers have been disappointed to fall on the wrong side of good fortune in recent weeks, with Maxwel Cornet’s late effort chalked off by VAR at Chelsea, before Saïd Benrahma was unlucky to see the inside of the post ensure the Irons somehow left Goodison Park empty-handed.
And while Fabiański made it clear that the new signings have needed time to settle in, he reiterated that the quality he sees in training means they are not too far away from clicking on the pitch.
“The jump is quite big when you come from a different league,” the former Poland goalkeeper explained, honestly. “Maybe not in terms of the way you play football, but the intensity is much different. That's something you always have to adjust to. And it takes time.
“It comes from playing a lot more games and experiencing the intensity, the physicality, and the strength of this league. It's not something that we as players really worry about because if you look at the players that have [signed this summer], and you watch them in training, you're just amazed by the quality.”
As well as the new faces in east London, the more experienced in Claret and Blue are adapting to new challenges this season, particularly the way the opposition is setting up against the Hammers.
Perhaps a similar battle should be expected once again this weekend, as a stubborn Wolves side conceded the least of all teams outside the top-four last season.
“What we are finding now is that we are the team that is a lot more in possession,” Fabiański stated. “But I think that's a sign of respect towards us as a team.
“We find ourselves playing a lot more like possessional attacks, and that's something a little bit different for us. It’s not a big surprise but it’s the effect of us doing well in the past few years.
“We are working hard in training to try to improve and find the best way we can attack teams when the game is like that. By changing small little things, we can turn the losses into wins, and hopefully, go on a good run.
“Starting from today, with a good run of games, a good run of decent results, [we can] put ourselves back in the mix for trying to challenge for Europe. As a Club, we are better than being around the relegation zone. That's not our aim, we want to continue what we have done in the past two years."
