Video: Koeman seeking revenge for Boleyn reversal
- by Staff Writer
- Friday, 5th February 2016
Southampton boss Ronald Koeman has challenged his players to turn the tables on West Ham when Slaven Bilic's side visit St Mary's tomorrow afternoon.
Koeman's side produced an excellent first half but were beaten 2-1 at the Boleyn Ground back in December after West Ham produced a superb second half display to come from a goal behind and beat the Saints.And now the Dutch manager has challenged his squad to right the wrongs of that particular day by beating West Ham and narrowing the five point gap that exists between the two sides.
"It's a big one because there is still a gap between Southampton and West Ham," he said. "We know what we can expect because it's not so long ago that we played against West Ham.
"When we played them away, we had a big disappointment after a great win against Arsenal. I think we deserved much more – we played very well in the first half but we weren't clinical enough.
"We didn't score more than one goal and that was the problem in that game. Now we have the possibility to have a good response.
"We know they are a strong team and they are doing well, so it's not easy to beat them, but the confidence is in the team to have a good result. Plus we're playing at home with the support of the fans, so we are looking forward to it."
Koeman speaking ahead of this weekend's clash with the Hammers
Despite his apparent confidence, Koeman also insisted that his team should not underestimate Bilic's side - who go into the game having lost just one of their last six away matches.
"They had away wins against the big teams of the Premier League and they are difficult to beat," he said. "They are a very strong side physically and they have some good individuals and fast players up front.
"They play confidently because they are doing well. We know their strengths and their weaknesses and it's now up to us and ourselves to play at a high level. If we win tomorrow the gap between us will be just two points - and that's what we're aiming to do."
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