While the West Ham United supporters may be wishing they could delay Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Manchester City indefinitely, you won’t find Mateus Fernandes shying away from anything.
The Portugal Under-21 skipper plays with a confidence, a purpose, and a character seen far too infrequently from many of his claret and blue teammates.
And, whisper it, West Ham United might have themselves what many in the business refer to as a ‘big game player’.
During spells with Southampton and the Hammers, Mateus Fernandes has produced nine goal contributions in 50 Premier League matches. Five of those have come against Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and, thanks to his blink-and-you-miss-it opener last weekend, Unai Emery’s dark horses Aston Villa.
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While that Villa defeat was heartbreaking in the way it came about, Fernandes feels West Ham have turned a corner under Nuno Espirito Santo. If Nuno is at the wheel, then it is the £40 million signing from St Mary’s who is gripping the clutch and shifting the gears.
Man City beware; Fernandes is not going to roll over and have his tummy tickled.
Mateus Fernandes determined to make his mark when West Ham United face Manchester City
Speaking on the Remi Martins podcast, Fernandes urged West Ham to follow Aston Villa’s lead.
A team who failed to win any of their first five matches, he points out, now have nine wins in their last ten. A bad start does not necessarily equal a bad season, although West Ham are leaving it a lot later than their claret-and-blue cousins to climb the table.
He feels that Nuno has given the Hammers a sense of leadership they lacked under Graham Potter, too. With the exception of that drab loss to Liverpool, the Londoners tend to play with a spirit and a tenacity these days. Arguably nobody epitomises that more than the headstrong Fernandes, although midfield partner Freddie Potts runs him close.
“When the club is a big club, when I’m going to play against City or I’m going to play against United, I want to, that’s what I dreamed of,” a bullish Fernandes says. “In other words, it gives me even more motivation.
“It’s true, in the tunnel, you feel it a little. I don’t know if it is nervous or anxious, but there’s a little buzzing in your head. But that all goes away as soon as you touch the ball.”
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Fernandes knows West Ham must ‘fight for every ball’ if they are to reel in Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Brentford and co. That battling spirit is a must if they are to have even the slightest hint of a chance of beating Man City for the first time in a decade.
The former Sporting Lisbon kid knows, though, that West Ham cannot afford to raise their game against City before slipping back into bad habits against Fulham a week later.
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“I’m very focused on what I do. I try to live with a clear conscience and work at my maximum. And when there isn’t an opportunity, it’s about continuing, maintaining that consistency,” Fernandes adds.
“The most important thing in football is maintaining consistency because anyone can play a good game, a very good game. Now, what will set you apart? You can play against, for example, Benfica in Portugal and then you can play against [minnows] Tondela. Completely different contexts.
“Can you play with motivation or not? Can you play well in the big games and the small games? That’s it. Consistency is the key in football.
“Playing well against Benfica at the [Estadio do] Luz, against Sporting at [the Jose] Alvalade, and playing well against Tondela and Estoril [are equally important].”
Fernandes explains why the West Ham project felt ‘special’ to him
West Ham went the extra mile to sign Mateus Fernandes last summer. This, plus an eye-watering £40 million fee spent on a midfielder who had suffered relegation in his one and only Premier League campaign before the current one, is fast becoming one of the better recruitment calls the club have made in recent times.
“When the club showed me the project, I felt from the beginning that it was special. They sent a 20-minute video explaining afternoon by afternoon,” Fernandes explains.
“Living in London is also different; there are lots of things to do, and even if things aren’t working out, you can also keep your head clear, that was important too.
“Therefore, it was a series of situations that led to this outcome. As I said, I was very happy at Southampton. It’s a place I care about, which I carry with great affection, and my family too. But I am also very happy at West Ham, and I’m really enjoying playing for them.
“[This is the right club for me], without a doubt. Living in London, as I said, is fantastic. Playing in a stadium with 60,000 people every game is fantastic. It’s great to have people speaking Portuguese at the club [like Nuno]. It also helps immensely.
“Therefore, there’s a set of factors that make me feel very comfortable, and that’s also why my performances are good. I feel comfortable, I feel stable, I know that there are people who tell me things to my face within the club, and which will help me evolve even further.”
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