Cresswell’s half-chance of fair finish
AARON CRESSWELL insists West Ham’s players will not be thinking about their holidays today, despite securing their top-flight status last weekend.
The Hammers won 2-0 at Leicester to guarantee their safety before holding Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United to a goalless draw at the London Stadium on Thursday night.
They host Everton, managed by former West Ham boss Sam Allardyce, knowing they could even finish in the top half if they win and other results go their way.
While that scenario seems unlikely, Cresswell is still targeting a strong end to what has been a difficult season for the club on and off the pitch.
England defender Cresswell said: “It’s the last game but we’re not looking at it as the last step before a holiday.
“We want to push up the table and try to finish the season on a high, because it hasn’t really been good enough. We haven’t been good at times this year but if we get three more points that could potentially push us up to 10th.
“No one wants to finish the season with the attitude that because we are now safe we’re just going to give up. “That’s certainly not the mentality these lads have got, and we’ll be fully focused.”
Cresswell is also looking to take the positives from the stalemate against Manchester United, where the highlight of the game was a late fracas between Hammers skipper Mark Noble and Reds midfielder Paul Pogba.
“It was a clean sheet and another point,” he added. “They’ve got some fantastic players but we kept them quiet, mainly.”
With the future of manager David Moyes (above) uncertain, West Ham will head into the summer with several questions over who will remain at the London Stadium for next season.
There have been times this campaign where supporters have turned on the board and called for them to sell up, while there are still teething problems at the stadium following the move from Upton Park almost two years ago.