The international break gives West Ham an opportunity to regroup, rest and fix some of the challenges we have faced so far.<\/p>\n
Eight games into the season, we have a clear view of our strengths and weaknesses, so fans are hoping we’ll use this break to recover from tiredness and improve technically.<\/p>\n
Having scored 22 Championship goals, it is clear to see that we are attacking well, putting us in a great position to play exciting football. <\/p>\n
Instead, our issues lie in defence and midfield, with us conceding easily and struggling to stay organised under pressure.<\/p>\n
One of the players that could fix the number of goals we’re conceding is Tomas Soucek. <\/p>\n
After a long absence, we hope he will be fit to play again when the season continues, bringing an experienced and passionate player into our midfield. <\/p>\n
One of the greatest benefits of Soucek’s potential return is that he’s naturally defensive, which is something we’ve been lacking. <\/p>\n
While he might not be the fastest, he should be able to protect our defence and stop us conceding from set pieces, which has been a major issue for us in the Championship.<\/p>\n
In addition to this, the break will give a lot of the new players a chance to take stock of their time at the club so far. <\/p>\n
The majority of summer signings have impressed, despite being brought in with little time to settle before their first games. <\/p>\n
The hope is that the slower pace for the next couple of weeks can take the pressure off and help them to gel even more.<\/p>\n
After a worrying start to the season, we had our four wins in a row, before dropping out of the Carabao Cup and then scraping a draw with Millwall.<\/a> <\/p>\n The drop-off in performance means we should not lose momentum with this time out, and instead, the international break can give legs a rest and provide time to improve on our defensive weaknesses before we go again.<\/p>\n When the season continues on 9 October, games will return thick and fast, meaning now is our time to prepare mentally and physically. <\/p>\n We’ve had a glimpse into what it feels like to win back-to-back games, and now we need to exceed expectations and find a way to do this regularly. <\/p>\n This break gives us the perfect breather to do this without pressure, so the goal must be to build momentum early and improve defensively from the moment the season gets back underway.<\/p>\n