Tomas Soucek has said West Ham is using the “disappointment” of losing out on the Europa League final last year as “motivation” for this year’s Europa Conference League semifinals.
On Thursday, the Hammers go to AZ Alkmaar with a 2-1 first-leg advantage. In the semifinals of the Europa League last year, they were defeated by eventual champions Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 on aggregate.
“Being one game away from the championship game has given us even more drive,” according to Soucek. “After the semi-final last year, we were quite dissatisfied. Now that West Ham hasn’t won a trophy in a few years, everyone on the team is driven to go to the final. We also want to offer the supporters this opportunity.”
West Ham is attempting to make it to its first European final since finishing as runners-up in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1976. West Ham hasn’t won a significant trophy since the FA Cup in 1980.
Although West Ham has battled for much of the current season, manager David Moyes has guided the Hammers to top-10 finishes in the Premier League in each of the previous two seasons. They have two games left and are 15th in the table, theoretically safe from relegation.
“We want to be in a higher position, therefore we’re not satisfied with the league’s final standing,” said Soucek. “But it will be a really good season if we win this title. We would once again play in Europe the following season.”
Right-back Vladimir Coufal and forward Michail Antonio both made their comebacks against Alkmaar. Suffering from a calf issue, Antonio, who scored the game-winning goal in the first leg, missed Sunday’s Premier League loss at Brentford, and Coufal missed three matches due to a hamstring ailment.
