Frederic Piquionne remains confident that West Ham can steer a route to Premier League safety.
Hammers striker confident relegation will be avoided
Frederic Piquionne remains confident that West Ham can steer a route to Premier League safety.
The Hammers continue to prop up the Premier League table at present, a position they have now held for an alarming amount of time.
They are, however, only three points adrift of safety, with the top-flight as keenly contested this season as it has been for some years.
Having managed to avoid being cast adrift, there is a still a confidence around Upton Park that the determination within their ranks will see them beat the drop.
"No-one is really worried to be bottom," French striker Piquionne told
France Football.
"We have a team that is capable of finishing in the top 10. We have a group with a lot of international players and the training sessions remain very intense.
"When I arrived at West Ham the fans told me: 'It doesn't mater how many goals you score, we want players who give their best on the pitch. We will always support those players'. They want warriors and I am one of them."
Atmosphere
This is the second successive season in which Piquionne has found himself at the centre of a basement battle, having suffered relegation with Portsmouth in 2009/10.
He believes West Ham's situation is markedly different to that of Pompey, though, with financial upheaval and off-field distractions having held the 2010 FA Cup finalists back.
"Last season at Portsmouth? The problem was the atmosphere around the team," added Piquionne.
"There were good players there but there were financial troubles and the seven defeats at the start of the season put them in big trouble.
"In a way we sacrificed the Premier League for the cup. Unfortunately things did not turn out as we had hoped (as Pompey lost the cup final to Chelsea)."
