By Ryan Benson
15 Mar 2011 23:39:00
James Tomkins , West Ham United (Getty Images)
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West Ham defender James Tomkins has called on his team-mates to pick themselves up following their weekend FA Cup defeat to Stoke City, and focus on securing the club’s place in the Premier League.
The Hammers are currently occupying the last relegation place in 17th, tied on 31 points with Birmingham City, however the Blues do have a game in hand.
Just above Birmingham are West Brom, who are on 32 points, therefore West Ham are by no means fighting a lost-cause and Tomkins is a firm believer that beating the drop isn’t beyond them.
Before Sundays 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Stoke City, the Hammers hadn’t lost any of their last four games in all competitions – a run that included three wins and a draw – with the second victory an impressive 3-1 triumph over Liverpool, but Tomkins is confident that form can be found again.
Speaking to reporters, the England Under-21 international said: “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.
“The FA Cup would have been a bonus but the league is massively important, we have to bounce back.
“There is a big game coming up. We have to put Stoke behind us and remember we were on a good run.”
“The fans went up in their thousands to Stoke and it was great support. We need them behind us and they were brilliant.
“We are disappointed we couldn’t give them the victory they wanted.
“We showed good heart and spirit but it wasn’t to be,” Tomkins added. “Another day, things could have gone our way but it wasn’t to be. We will all go again on Saturday – we’ll be giving it everything at Tottenham.”