Axel Tuanzebe is confident Aston Villa can end a run of three consecutive Premier League defeats when West Ham United arrive in B6 for a Super Sunday clash.
The defender says the squad aren’t feeling sorry for themselves following defeats against Tottenham Hotspur, Wolves and Arsenal and are keeping things in perspective heading into the Villa Park match.
Tuanzebe believes the demeanour and composure of head coach Dean Smith has helped to ensure that heads haven’t dropped.
He said: “It’s a long campaign and we’re only at the end of October. There’s no need to be down or gloomy.
“At the end of the day, we’re only a couple of points away from fourth position, so we’ll be taking the next game in our stride and going for the win.”
Tuanzebe added: “I’ve been in environments where coaches go up and down, and having someone who acts the same around the lads, demands the same, doesn’t go missing and become moody is actually very refreshing.
“For me, it makes me feel that the gaffer still believes in us and that I want to put in a performance come the weekend.”
West Ham have continued to excel this term after a sixth-place finish last season, impressing domestically and in Europe.
But with a week’s worth of training behind them and the prospect of another raucous home crowd on Sunday, Tuanzebe is confident Villa can cause the Hammers problems.
He said: “We’ve studied, we’ve had a meeting on how we’re going to play and we’ve obviously had a meeting about them.
“We recognise their threats and where they’ve been getting joy from. Our focus will be to nullify that, but on the other hand, we still work on our game and how we can be a problem to them.
“We’ll work on trying to expose their weaknesses to the fullest and getting our rewards.”
