Tomas Soucek West Ham
West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek has claimed that the Hammers’ game against Spurs is the biggest derby for the club ahead of the two meetings this weekend in the Premier League. Soucek, 26, started off the campaign off colour with his below-par early season performances which were a consequence of the midfielder’s endeavours with the Czech Republic during the summer at the European Champions. However, his recent gritty like performance against Everton shows that he’s finally starting to find the form that many in east London have become accustomed to. His facial injury suffered against the Toffees is just one of many that show his dedication and commitment to the cause but this specific incident came at a cost to the player personally as the midfielder needed plastic surgery following the match.
David Moyes said: “Tomas is okay. He’s obviously been a bit sore with different stitches. He got his lip redone the other day again by another doctor, but he’s had stitches in his lip, he’s had stitches in his cheek and he’s had stitches above his nose as well, so there’s three different areas he’s had it. I think he’s fine. There’s just a decision whether we decide to rest him or just give him a chance for a breather really, but I don’t think his injuries would be any reason not to play him. Tomas wants to play. He’s had his lip sutured – he got it done by a plastic surgeon yesterday again, because it was stitched up after the game and it’s been redone. He’s had a couple of stitches in between his nose and his eyebrows, if you want to call it there. He’s fine. I said to him ‘look at my eyebrows Tomas – all my eyebrows are stretched from my years of being a centre-half and those cuts!’ He’s got a few more stitches to go before he gets to this level!”
The Irons come into this one fresh off the back of a convincing 3-0 win against Genk in the Europa League, whilst a wounded Tottenham side mentally have to pick themselves up after a crushing 1-0 defeat to Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa Conference League. In a derby that has produced some memorable moments for both teams including the crazy Manuel Lanzini equaliser against Jose Mourinho’s side last season coupled with Jesse Lingard’s superb performance at home against the same opposition- it’s understandable to say that the east Londoners have had the north Londoners’ number on the last few occasions. Despite Moyes’ side also facing the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea in the upcoming weeks and months, Soucek is in no doubt regarding which derby is the biggest in his eyes.
Tomas Soucek said: “For us it is the biggest derby. I especially like this kind of game because it is special for everyone, for the players, and I hope the derby will be ours. In the table it is a very important game because we won against Everton and we want to do the same against Tottenham, so for us it is a big game in every way and I hope we get it done. I remember last season away when we were losing 3-0 and then got to 3-3 at the end. We went there thinking we could beat them but it would be a hard game. Now everything has changed and we go into the game wanting to beat Tottenham and we are confident of beating them. We are confident because this is our way, how we want to play and how we want to be successful.”
