Pablo Zabaleta wants his West Ham team-mates to carry the confidence from the vital win over Huddersfield into the Premier League showdown at West Brom.
Zabaleta says he was delighted to feature so prominently in the 2-0 victory at the London Stadium on Monday; delivering three points to lift the Hammers from the basement position in the top flight.
The triumph over David Wagner’s Terriers lifts a huge amount of pressure from the shoulders of boss Slaven Bilic following his side’s poor start to the campaign.
Now Argentina star Zabaleta is looking to cash in on the buoyant mood in the Irons’ camp against the Baggies at the Hawthorns on Saturday. And he says he is encouraged by the fact that the home side didn’t concede against the newly-promoted outfit.
The former Manchester City defender said: “A clean sheet like Monday’s brings confidence back and hopefully we can continue playing in that way. I played as a wing-back against Huddersfield. It’s been a long time since I played in that position, but I was happy with the performance.
“I always tried to support in attack and also always try to be in the right position defensively. Overall I think we were solid at the back. We needed a performance like that as defenders, because in the last three games we conceded ten goals. That wasn’t good enough, so I’m very happy with the performance overall. The whole team did great.”
And Zabaleta was quick to point out the level of support and enthusiasm from the West Ham fans on the night. He added: “It was great to play my first game at London Stadium. The atmosphere was fantastic – I came here with City last season and was impressed with the atmosphere.
“Of course, it was great to experience it as a West Ham player on Monday. Thank you to the supporters – they were great, they were behind the team and I’m pleased with the performance. We needed to win a game like this.”