Santo could welcome back a key player soonplaceholder image
Santo could welcome back a key player soon | Getty Images
West Ham are on course for a timely fitness boost ahead of their run-in.
West Ham are set for an important fitness boost over the coming weeks as they prepare for another vital run of fixtures. The Iron are now level on points with Nottingham Forest after fighting their way back to the brink of the safety spots.
Only goal difference separates them from the dotted line, and it will be interesting to see how the relegation battle evolves over the coming weeks.
After an FA Cup clash with Brentford, West Ham have a tough run of fixtures that will see them take on Manchester City and Aston Villa before facing bottom club Wolves.
Nuno Espirito Santo and his men are going to have to find a way to pick up at least some sort of point return from one of those next two games to avoid falling further behind, but they are helped by the fact Tottenham are now only one point ahead, meaning they have two teams to chase down.
West Ham are also likely to be boosted by the return of Pablo Felipe for at least one of those games, with the forward now said to be close to returning.
Santo said ahead of the Brentford game: “We’re still assessing him (Pablo) day by day. He’s improving a lot, so we’ll keep assessing him, and see how it goes.
“We have to assess all the players, you know how it goes. It was a tough game [at Fulham], so we have to recover, assess and then prepare to go again, in a game we are all looking forward to.”
The Hammers are being careful with Pablo, but he has been working on the grass for a couple of weeks and now seems to be close to returning. The forward made a big impact with his energy in behind the front line, working behind Taty Castellanos, and the Iron will be desperate to get him back for the run-in.
Santo on West Ham momentum
Speaking about the recent momentum his side have built up, Santo said: “It’s (strong recent form) not because of me - I think it was the players. The players have been able to improve things, and the results have helped everything. The atmosphere and the whole mood has been much better.
“I think we’ve been able to react [to setbacks] well. It’s not possible every time, but bouncing back from poor performances is always important, especially in the sort of fight that we’re involved in.
“We saw against Fulham that the players reacted well after Liverpool. We achieved a good performance and a good result, and we hope it continues. But, what we really want is to avoid the setbacks. Let’s try to keep this flow going for as long as we can.”
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