David Moyes believes that, after three successive campaigns, European football is now part and parcel of the West Ham United experience.
The Hammers face their toughest test in non-dom competition since facing Fiorentina in June's Conference League Final when they take on Bundesliga outfit SC Freiburg in Germany this evening.And West Ham will have to face the task minus the vast majority of the club's regular travelling support, who will not be present inside the stadium on Thursday evening due to a UEFA ban imposed in the wake of unruly scenes in Prague.
"We’ve had brilliant support away from home in Europe so I’m disappointed we can’t get the supporters here," said Moyes, speaking in his pre-match press conference. "We had a great journey getting to the final last year, and the semi-finals and all the other games before that as well.
"Tomorrow night we know it will be difficult – there will be a big crowd and every time you come to Germany the atmosphere in the stadium [is excellent]. We found it in Frankfurt, we’ve found it in all the stadiums we’ve been in and we don’t expect any different here.
"Maybe, for a long, long time, Europe has not been in the DNA of West Ham. We are now a European club, we’re in Europe for a third year in a row and I take pride in that. We certainly don’t take it for granted, you’re privileged to be in a European competition and you go into every game feeling that you’re going to have to earn it.
"All the games we’ve had in Europe have been tough and the outcomes might sometimes have looked a lot easier, but we’ve always found the games really difficult, especially away from home. And I actually think football throughout Europe is improving greatly. The standard throughout all the countries is rising."
And when asked as to his specific aims for the current campaign, Moyes reiterated his previous target - to remain in the competition once the group stage has been completed.
"The first year we came in I said I hope we’re in European football after Christmas time, and I’m still saying the same," he confirmed. "We were European winners last year and if we can get ourselves into February, March, April next year in Europe, it will be a hell of an achievement.
"This competition has improved greatly itself. I’m looking at the teams in this competition, I’m looking at the teams who might drop down from the Champions League, so I still feel the first thing I need to do is try to be in Europe after Christmas. I want to do that and it would be a big thing to do that."
Meanwhile Moyes' opposite number, Christian Streich admitted that the match would prove to be "a huge test" for his team. "They have some real quality," he said. "Some of their players on their bench cost them 30 or 40 million.
"There’s no doubt about the high standard of Premier League games. This will be a huge test for us, but I’m excited to test ourselves against an established Premier League side. We fought hard to qualify for the Europa League and are excited to take on such a big club."
The match, which kics off at 5.45pm GMT is a sellout, with Freiburg expecting a capacity crowd of some 34,200 at the Europa-Park Stadion.
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