Friday 24 April 2015 14:50, UK
Sam Allardyce has warned his players they are not on holiday yet and has challenged them to match the fight shown by the clubs threatened with relegation.
West Ham were flying high early in the season but a dismal run of results has seen them win just one of their last 12 matches.
It’s a run of form which leaves them needing to win their five remaining matches if they are to eclipse their highest ever Premier league points tally, set in the 1998/99 season.
"The players have to realise they are not on the beach yet - far from it,” said the West Ham manager.
“The focus should be that we want to finish on a high. People think we're having a bad season because our bad run is coming at the end of the season. Finishing the season well gives everyone a high going into the summer.
"We wanted to finish with more points than we've ever managed and we should have achieved that a long time ago.
"After Christmas we were in a good position and we thought we might be able achieve a bit more than that. But we've made life difficult for ourselves."
With a visit to QPR on Saurday and Burnley coming up for West Ham next weekend, Allardyce's side could yet have a big say on which teams fall into the Sky Bet Championship at the end of the season.
And Allardyce pointed the recent defeat to a battle-hardened Leicester side as an example of what can happen if his players do not stand up and fight against the Premier league’s lower-ranked sides.
"They are fighting for their lives and we experienced that at Leicester,” Allardyce said.
“We played extremely well at Leicester and shouldn't have lost the game but Leicester are fighting for their lives so we have to match the fight that QPR have and Burnley will have here.”
