City head into the game looking to respond to Saturday’s 3-0 defeat against Sheffield United, a result which brought their recent run of impressive away performances to an abrupt halt. Having already secured victories at Preston North End and Bristol City this season, Chris and Tom Shaw will be hoping their players can produce another memorable result, this time in front of their own supporters.
Speaking in his post-match press conference at Bramall Lane, Chris was keen to recognise the travelling support, with around 3,000 Imps making the journey to South Yorkshire.
“Yeah, the fans are incredibly important, as always, Gary. Three thousand of them again today, and a massive mention to them.
“It’s easy to mention them when you win games of football. We weren’t able to give them another away day memory like the last couple of games that we’ve had away from home, but they were amazing.
“We’re going to need them on Wednesday night, but it’s our job as a staff, our job as a group of players, to give them something to shout about.”
Chris knows that the atmosphere will be important against a side who were competing in the Premier League last season, but he is equally aware that City must give the supporters something to get behind.
“We need to threaten the opponent’s back line, we need to create some chaos in their penalty area, and we want to win games at home.
“We need to win games at home this year if we’re to achieve what our target was at the start of the season, and this is another opportunity to do so.
“As I said to you, our players, on their mettle, at our level, are capable of beating anyone in the league, and that for me includes West Ham. It’s just up to us to help them do that.”
The Sheffield United defeat was a reminder of the fine margins at Championship level. City had looked competitive for the opening 35 minutes, but two goals either side of the break and left them with too much to do. Chris, however, remains convinced that the result was not a reflection of a significant gulf between the sides.
“I’m sure when the fixtures came out, we were hoping that was going to be the first game of the season. It’s the one that we look for, and it’s come early in the season.
“Obviously, a monster football club that’s just come down from the Premier League, won a European trophy a few years ago.
“It’s our job to make sure that we just get back to our levels. We weren’t a mile off it today, especially that first 35 minutes. We weren’t a mile off what we wanted to do at the start of the match.
“A couple of moments, sucker punches, took the game away from us. But as I said to you, I just know this group of players are able to bounce back, are able to compete and thrive at this level.”
While City have already demonstrated their ability to compete away from home, turning Sincil Bank into a difficult place for visiting teams is another challenge. The performances have largely been encouraging, but Chris believes the next step is ensuring those displays translate into victories.
“We’ve shown it already. It’s about showing it at home, and like I was just saying, we have to win home games this season. We know we have to.
“We look at all the stats of the teams that come up from the division below and we know that we have to make it a home fortress.
“Performance-wise, I think we’ve done that so far, bar the Portsmouth game. It’s now about taking points off teams, taking three points off teams, and we’ll do everything we can for that to happen on Wednesday night.”
The visit of West Ham provides City with an immediate opportunity to put Saturday’s disappointment behind them, although the quality of the opposition means it will be another significant test for Chris and Tom’s side.
There is little doubt that Sincil Bank will be in full voice for the occasion, and the challenge now is for the Imps to deliver the sort of performance that can turn an eagerly anticipated fixture into a memorable result.
You can watch Chris’s full post-match press conference, including his thoughts on Sheffield United and the upcoming West Ham fixture, on The Stacey West YouTube channel.
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