Having been a West Ham United player for seven-and-a-half years, Angelo Ogbonna knows a thing or two about coming through testing times.
The Italy international centre-back also knows how passionate the Claret and Blue Army are for their Club.
With both of those things in mind, Ogbonna’s experience, composure and understated leadership qualities will be vital to the Hammers’ quest to improve performances and results and climb the Premier League table in the second half of the 2022/23 season.
The 34-year-old, who made his first Premier League start in 13 months in the home fixture with Brentford on 30 December after fully recovering from the serious knee injury he suffered in November 2021, spoke to whufc.com about the importance of keeping calm, remaining positive and working hard to return to the levels he and his teammates hit regularly in each of the previous two campaigns.
Angelo, let’s start with a positive, which was your return to the Premier League starting XI against Brentford after over a year away?
“Yes, it was the first start since my injury and I’m glad I could make it. I was so positive I would come back and I have done now. As for the result, we were disappointed, but not with the way we played because we played really well. We kept the ball, we were so brave and we played out from the back without any problems, but we lacked a bit of cutting edge.
“But this is football. It’s unpredictable. What counts at the end of the day is three points and even last year there were times when we didn’t play well but we got the points. In football, you have to fight hard and take the three points, even if you play awful. That’s a mentality we have to have.
“I see a lot of changes, from new players and senior players, and now we have the second half of the season and everyone is starting to take responsibility. Against Brentford, we gave something. I know some of the fans booed, but I think we showed we can play well. Dec and Lucas showed the can play really well together in the middle of the park, but on the night the details were really important.
“We lost because of details against a team who thrive on details and I am doubly disappointed because we conceded the same goal we conceded to them last season. Things like that really hurt me, but I think there were positive things from the game.”
You know the passion in our fanbase and how disappointed the supporters are with our results in the Premier League this season, so what would you say to them?
“I think the fans have shown to me that West Ham is bigger than everything – it’s a family. Even in the bad moments, they are there, and those are the moments when we really need them.
“We have had big changes and we have got new players and the expectation from the fans [after the previous two seasons] is really high and they want more, but sometimes you have to stick with what you are and what you have, and in this moment we need their help.
“There is not one player nor one member of staff, including the manager, who doesn’t want to turn things around, so I think it’s better to stay together because when we stay together we show everyone we are West Ham.
“We played against Sevilla and they came here thinking life is easy, but we are West Ham and we are totally different than any team. We showed for two years, even during the COVID, how big we are. We are a family and people need to respect that. We will try our best to get back in that moment.”
You said we need to fight and we have fought so well at Leeds United in each of the last two seasons, winning 2-1 on each occasion. We go to Elland Road again on Wednesday evening, and need to show that same spirit again?
“It’s not just Leeds. We are not just focused on Leeds. We have 21 games left and I think we have to fight for every game. It starts at Leeds. In fact, I think it started against Brentford because even though we lost, we were unlucky, and our effort was totally different and we played like everyone wanted. For the majority of the first half, everyone enjoyed it, but football is like that and three points count, so we will try our best to get three points at Leeds and in all our games.”
