West Ham United up against really good German team says boss

With senior striker Michail Antonio (tight adductor muscle) cautiously not making the trip to Germany, Hammers will also find themselves in the heat of the Europa-Park Stadion cauldron without the backing of their travelling Claret & Blue army, who have been banned from attending this evening’s UEFA Europa League clash.

“We’re playing a really good team who have had excellent success in the Bundesliga,” said Moyes ahead of the Group A encounter with the side sitting in eighth-spot in their domestic league.

“They also did really well in Europe last year, before losing to Juventus in the last 16 of the competition and, in Christian Streich, they’ve got a manager who’s been in place a long time.

“Stability often goes a long way and although they’re not the biggest name in German football, they’ve certainly grown and got themselves into a really good position.”

Tonight’s game will be the Hammers 29th European game in just over two years and, having famously lifted the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy with victory over Fiorentina in June, the Scot can overtake compatriot Bill Nicholson (Tottenham Hotspur) and Don Revie (Leeds United) in the record books if his side can make it an unprecedented 17th match unbeaten.

“They’re not bad names then, are they?” smiled the 60-year-old Glaswegian.

“People who know their football will tell you that they were two, incredibly gifted managers over a long period of time in English football so it would be a great achievement if we can now go on to do that.

“We’re now into our third successive year in Europe and I take great pride from that and, as a football club, we certainly don’t take it for granted.

“For a long time, West Ham United have not been seen as a European club – it hasn’t been in our DNA – but that’s started to change and, now, we are a European club. We’re getting a little taste of what it is like and what you need to do but, throughout Europe, the standard has improved greatly and it’s still rising, yet further.

“It’s a privilege to be in a European competition and you have to go into every game feeling that you have to earn it your result.”

Moyes knows tonight’s fixture is likely to be the most difficult of the six that his side will face in the group stages. While the Hammers beat Serbian outfit FK TSC Bačka Topola (3-1) in their opening game, SC Freiburg were also victorious in Greece, where they beat Olympiacos (3-2) on matchday one.

“Every game we have been in during these recent runs has been really tough and, even though the outcomes may sometimes have looked easier, we have always found them difficult, especially away from home,” said Moyes, whose task will be made even harder by the fact that the loyal West Ham United fans, who religiously travel over land and sea to follow their team, are barred from joining a partisan, packed-out 35,000 crowd.

“There’s an excitement about being in Europe and coming to play these games and our supporters have waited a long, long time for the nights when they can see their team playing in European competition so it’s disappointing that they’re not going to be here.

“We were European winners last year and just like we have down in the previous two seasons, it would be one hell of an achievement if, once again, we can qualify for the knock-out stages through this group and still find ourselves in the competition come February, March and April next year.

“But you also have to be realistic because the Europa League has improved greatly as a competition, not only with the teams who are still in it this year but also those clubs who could drop down from the UEFA Champions League, too.

“Every season so far, I’ve said that I hope we’re in Europe after Christmas and I am still saying the same thing this year, too, because reaching the knock-out stages again would be a big thing for us.”