Ahead of the second leg of West Ham United's UEFA Europa Conference League with KAA Gent, Flynn Downes has the Last Word...
I wouldn't say I get more nervous because I am a West Ham fan, but I obviously know how big the chance to reach a European semi-final is.
To be fair, all the boys know that, and the manager has said it too. Like everyone in the stands, I’ll be excited about the match, as playing for West Ham is still a bit mad to be fair. I do look at it and think ‘wow’.
But I have to get over that dream mentality. It’s time to get on with it. Here, it just means so much more. It’s just that extra bit special.
This season, I've got a lot of my game time in this competition, so I'm very grateful for it that. It's been a really good experience and hopefully we can continue the run into the last four of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
We know KAA Gent are going to be a tough task. They challenged us in the first leg last week. And let’s face it, we didn’t play our best. But hopefully, we play a lot better and we can progress to the last four.
Importantly, we have the home advantage with us. You saw on Sunday how good the atmosphere was. It makes us play even better.
It's going to be rocking, London Stadium, as well, so hopefully we can put on another performance for the fans. We have a chance to put it right after last week and that’s what we are going to do.
On Sunday, the boys were unbelievable against arguably the best team in the league so, if we replicate that level of performance, we should be alright.
I do know how big this is for the Club to potentially win this competition. I would want West Ham to win, even if I wasn’t a player, but I want to help us get there. It’s a huge chance, and it does mean a lot more being a fan.
Of course, it means a lot to win no matter the club, but here it would be extra special. I've already had two people on at me about tickets for the final... if we get there!
It’s a trophy at the end of the day. It would be massive for the Club. Both the Premier League and Conference League are huge competitions, so we are going to give our best in both from now and until the end of the season.
We are just going to give 100 per cent and see how we get on. We have to earn that place in the semi-final and then the final.
We are going to give it our all.
