SITTING in nineteenth position – even with three quarters of the season’s fixtures ahead- is not a comfortable place to be for West Ham fans, nor the players or the coach. The worrying trend of ‘losing’ is a habit that is difficult to break and the hammers don’t have a home win since February. However on Sunday they take on a [Newcastle](https://www.claretandhugh.info/west-ham-v-newcastle-united-preview-team-news-predicted-line-ups/) side that has had its own problems on the road this season.
It isn’t just about the much-trumpeted ‘hard work’ which every player and coach trots out as if it is something new. Graham Potter might not have been perfect (!) but by appointing a sports psychologist in the summer he recognised that West Ham’s frailties were in the mind as much as the physique.
The recent **Mateus Fernandes** interview on [whufc.com](https://www.whufc.com/news/fernandes-we-need-win-fans) shows that whilst the midfielder may be one of West Ham’s newest, youngest recruits – he’s still just twenty one years old – he’s clued up on the whole mental resilience issue and is only too aware of the pitfalls of negativity or fear around sitting in the bottom three just yet – having just gone through a torrid relegation season with Southampton.
_Relegation veteran – at just 21 – knows the mindset to adopt in troubled times like these_
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_“Last season I was losing every week. For me it was important because you need to think about the positive things, like ‘how many guys in Portugal want to play in the Premier League?’ or ‘how many guys play in the Premier League?’, so I’m a lucky guy and I want to show my quality._
_This is the point – you need to see only the good things. If not you go down and you can’t play well.”_
All of which is fine providing the young man gets selected and has a chance to put his positive mental focus to good use. Hopefully his first West Ham goal last time out is enough of a hint to his head coach to play him from the start against Newcastle on Sunday. Fernandes doesn’t sound like an individual who is playing with the threat of relegation hanging over his head anytime soon.
Focusing on the positive – I believe it is known. _“Mateus’ Fernandes’ secret sauce”_ as it could be called, needs bottling and sharing with the other ten in the team.