Graham Potter has been speaking to the media ahead of this weekend's Premier League clash with Brentford.
The new Hammers Head Coach admitted he had used the two-week enforced break in order to work on the fitness of a number of injured key players, some of whom he hopes to field against the Bees in Stratford this weekend."We didn’t have a game last week and we’ve tried to use the time we’ve had as well as possible," Potter told the assembled media on Friday lunchtime. "The players have trained well, and we’ve used the opportunity to get the injured players back as well.
"So it’s been a combination of a few things, as well as the recovery of the players who have been playing and we’ll go into the last 14 games of the season with a bit of freshness now. That’s something we’re really excited about, and we’re going to try and pick up as many points as we can, starting at home against Brentford on Saturday."
One player almost certain to feature in the match day squad is new loan signing Evan Ferguson. The teenage forward, who missed much of last season through injury is expected to feature at some point - even though a full 90 minutes may be a little beyond him at present.
"Evan's trained well since he’s come in and he’s certainly showed his quality," mused Potter, who previously worked with Irish international at Brighton. "The situation with him is that he hasn’t played that much football recently, so we have to be a bit careful with how many minutes he plays and whether he starts.
"But he’s been great and I think he’s only going to get stronger and better during the time he’s here with us. He’s ready to help the team and we’ll make the decision about his involvement as we get closer to the game."
Potter also extended a warm welcome to fellow January arrival James Ward-Prowse, who returned from his season-long loan at Nottingham Forest early. "It’s good to have him back with us," said Potter.
"He adds his experience, his quality all over the pitch, his set-pieces and everything else. He’s a really high level, experienced player who knows the Premier League and understands what you need to do every day to be a top player, so that’s really helpful for us and we’ve all been really impressed with him so far."
As for what he expects from Thomas Frank's team? "Brentford have improved all the time and they’ve overcome having to sell a number of players," he concluded. "When they’re in the game they defend high really well and aggressively, but they can also defend deep well. They attack big spaces and they’ve improved their build-up a lot.
"I think they’ve just maximised everything they’ve had, so credit to everyone there. We know it’s going to be a tough game. At the same time, we’re looking forward to it and are excited about it."
You may view Potter's press conference, in full, below.
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