If West Ham United fans are feeling down about their Champions League chances following back-to-back defeats they shouldn’t be.
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That’s according to two players who know all about what it takes to make it to Europe’s top table.
West Ham’s glut of injuries caught up with them as they lost consecutive games for the first time since the start of the season against Newcastle and Chelsea.
Both defeats were harsh. Both were with 10 men.
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West Ham are fifth in the table going into the next round of fixtures. David Moyes’s side are effectively four points off Chelsea given the Blues’s superior goal difference.
So the Hammers are back to being the underdogs for a top four spot.
But former West Ham academy graduate Glen Johnson and double Champions League winner Owen Hargreaves are still backing Moyes’s boys to make it with five games to go (premierleague.com).
“They’re (West Ham) sat in a very good place to be honest,” Johnson told The Premier League.
“They’ve probably got the best run-in now until the end of the season. They’ll probably go into most of their games as favourites and I think Chelsea are going to drop some points so I think they’re right in the middle of the race.”
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Hargreaves agreed and says West Ham fans have every right to believe they can achieve the dream.
“I mean come on, if you’re a West Ham fan, look at that (table),” Hargreaves told The Premier League.
“Fifth ahead of Liverpool, Tottenham, Everton, Arsenal and Leeds. That is an unbelievable season, no wonder Moyes is smiling, with five games left, they’re in an unbelievable position where they can potentially qualify for the Champions League.
“And they give everybody a game, we saw that against Chelsea. So look, they’re outsiders, but they’ve got a chance.”
The duo are right. And being in this position could suit West Ham who now genuinely have nothing to lose in the final month of the season.
West Ham back to being the underdogs and it may suit Moyes’s boys better
Chelsea have a manic fixture list and big pressure games against some tough teams. In the league the Blues face a Fulham side fighting for their lives sandwiched by two legs of a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.
Then Chelsea face Manchester City, Arsenal, Leicester – in the league and FA Cup final – and Aston Villa, with Jack Grealish likely back by then, to finish.
West Ham play four of the bottom seven in their last five and have no other distractions.
And if West Ham learned anything from the unfortunate defeat to Chelsea it is that they are far from being world beaters.
West Ham will probably have to win three and draw two – or win four – of their last five to get that Champions League spot.
With the pressure now off and hopefully some players returning before next Monday’s game against Burnley, West Ham can get back to playing with freedom.
The Champions League dream is very much alive ahead of the last five.
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