At the sound of the full-time whistle at The Hawthorns on Wednesday evening, the West Ham United players were celebrating like they knew they were on the verge of something special.
Once the players went off the field, Lingard let on that the jovial atmosphere continued.
Jesse Lingard said: “It wasn’t pretty, I’ll tell you that. The boys are in the dressing room celebrating a big win.
The game almost got off the perfect start for the Hammers only for Rice to hit the woodwork with his penalty and then Soucek to deflect a Matheus Pereira corner beyond stand-in keeper Darren Randolph. Lingard said that despite the early setbacks the Hammers players kept their composure and showed great courage in coming from behind to seal all three points.
Jesse Lingard said: “We stuck together through the hard times. We knew it was going to be difficult against West Brom. It is always difficult coming here, especially the first time with fans back, which is amazing. They were going to get behind them and show support for them to win the game. The lads showed courage, fight and great character to come back.”
The England international put the Hammers win down to remaining calm after conceding and letting their quality shine in the closing stages.
Jesse Lingard said: “When you come here and go one down, it is time to wake up a bit and kick on, then, the class comes through.”
As David Moyes pointed out after the game West Ham are close to their Europa League aim but the job is not yet done, with one point needed to clinch a top-six finish.
David Moyes said: “We don’t play for a draw or a loss, we always play for a win, no matter what”.
It is not just the thought of a Europa League campaign spurring West Ham on this weekend according to Lingard but the return of 10,000 Hammers supporters to the London Stadium as well.
David Moyes said: “It’s another big game at the weekend we’ve got the fans there [as well], which will be brilliant to put on a show for them.”
