Lincoln captain Paudie O’Connor has made rather strange comments about West Ham ahead of their Carabao Cup clash.
West Ham get their third competition of the season underway with a trip to Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday night.
When the darker nights close in you know the English football season is seriously getting underway and that’s the case for West Ham.
This will be an eighth game of the new season for the Hammers in all competitions.
After their Europa League opener on Thursday night, West Ham were away at Liverpool on Sunday and now face League One Lincoln on Wednesday night in what we traditionally know as the League Cup.
Like in the European group games, David Moyes tends to make wholesale changes for the domestic cup games.
But it will undoubtedly still be a very useful side given the strength of West Ham’s squad right now.
The team will likely be similar to the side which started the 3-1 win over TSC Backa Topola on Thursday night but with one or two youngsters involved, certainly from the bench.
International Hammers stars such as Mohammed Kudus, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Tomas Soucek, Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals, Maxwel Cornet and Thilo Kehrer look likely to feature.
And seasoned Premier League performers such as Danny Ings and Lukasz Fabianski too.
So a preview from the opposition skipper ahead of the game might jar with some Hammers fans.
Lincoln captain Paudie O’Connor has made rather strange comments about West Ham ahead of the Carabao Cup clash.
While West Ham are currently seventh in the best league in the world, Lincoln sit 13th in the third tier of English football.
But not only has their captain stated he is confident of getting one over on European champions West Ham, he also doesn’t appear to hold the Hammers in particularly high regard.
Because O’Connor says facing West Ham will only ‘probably’ be a slight step up from playing Bristol City, Southampton and Sheffield United.
“We’ve got nothing to fear, especially being at home,” O’Connor told the Lincoln City website.
“We’ve gone to places like Bristol City, Sheffield United, and Southampton and given a very good account of ourselves on all three occasions, so there’s no reason why we can’t do the same on Wednesday.
“It’s probably a bit of a step up, but we know we’ve got quality in the building and when we do have chances presented to us, we can take them…
“Under the lights in a big cup game, when all the pressure is on the opposition – it’s going to be a good occasion and one we’re all looking forward to.”
There’s nothing wrong with having confidence in your own team.
But those are bold words indeed which don’t seem to give a squad of West Ham’s quality the respect it deserves.
Would O’Connor be making similar statements if Lincoln were preparing to face a Spurs, Chelsea or a Brighton for example?
Let’s see if he and his Imps teammates can back it up with actions.
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