West Ham United’s Tomas Soucek has spoken about the team’s recent performances, stating that they “lacked character” earlier in the season but showed significant improvement against Tottenham and Manchester United. The Czech Republic captain believes that the team’s fluid style under manager Graham Potter is key to their success.
According to Sky Sports, Soucek, who stands at 6ft 4ins, is not the most obvious fit for Potter’s pass-and-move philosophy, but he has been effective in his role, scoring nine goals this season, including the opening goal in West Ham’s win at Manchester United on Sunday.
Sky Sports reports that Soucek’s versatility and industry are more in line with Potter’s approach, and he has been used in various positions, including as a No 6 enforcer, a box-to-box No 8, and as a No 10 battering ram.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Soucek said, “He wants to use me in many positions, and I like that. I want to be flexible, I can play deep and I can play higher, that’s my style – what I love about football and being a midfielder is when they can rotate all over the pitch.”
The Sky Sports source also revealed that Soucek is being used less on the ball in attacking areas, and creating less for his teammates, but winning it back in the latter two-thirds, and scoring more goals.
Soucek also discussed the team’s character, stating that they “need to have more character to show we are all united and together.” He cited the team’s passion against Tottenham and Manchester United as an example of what they are capable of.
As reported by Sky Sports, West Ham has struggled with mental fragility this season, conceding 10 goals in the opening 10 minutes of matches and 11 in the last. However, Soucek believes that the team can finish the season strongly, saying, “It would make a big difference… We want to be higher in the table but we still have a couple of games so we can finish ahead of Man Utd and Tottenham.”
The Sky Sports article also mentioned that Soucek and teammate Vladimir Coufal will be leaving the club this summer, along with Aaron Cresswell and Lukasz Fabianski. Soucek joked about asking Coufal to tell him first where he’s going, saying it will be a big miss for him and the club.
West Ham’s final two games are against Nottingham Forest and Ipswich, and Soucek believes that a strong finish to the season can lift the mood around the ground and set the team up for Potter’s first full season at the helm.
In related news, Sky Sports has announced that they will be showing 215 live Premier League games from next season, an increase from 128 matches. This will include 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games.
As Sky Sports viewers will be able to see, West Ham United’s Tomas Soucek has been in good form, scoring his ninth Premier League goal of the season in West Ham’s win at Man Utd on Sunday. With his physical presence and versatility, Soucek has been an effective player for West Ham under Graham Potter.
Tomas Soucek in his interview with Sky Sports also mentioned that “The character, the passion of the team beats individual quality and if we put individual quality and spirit together, we can be a really good team.”
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