The Hammers remain in the heat of a relegation battle – sitting just three points above the dreaded drop-zone with only nine matches remaining – while last night’s disjointed draw at KAA Gent leaves Flynn Downes and the rest of his team-mates with work to do if they are to progress to the UEFA Conference League semi-finals.
“It obviously hasn’t been our best campaign in the Premier League,” admitted the marauding midfielder following the quarter-final, first-leg deadlock at the Ghelamco Arena.
“But we’re also looking at this competition as our chance to win a European trophy because it would be massive for everyone and that’s the goal at the end of the day.
“Tonight was a tough game but Gent were a good side, they were very aggressive, knew what they were doing and set up very well.
“Unfortunately, we just weren’t at our best and it’s as simple as that really,” conceded the 24-year-old after seeing Danny Ings first-half strike cancelled out by 24-goal Gent ace Hugo Cuypers 10 minutes after the break.
“In the end, we did well to get the 1-1 draw. I wouldn’t say that we had an escape but I just don’t think that we played at our best today.
“But it’s back home now for the second leg and we’re looking forward to another special European night, next Thursday (April 21, 8pm).”
Meanwhile, returning from Belgium, the Hammers must now switch their attention to silencing some big guns in Sunday’s tricky clash against table-topping Arsenal (2pm), who lead the Premier League by six points.
“We’ll go back to the drawing board, analyse what we did tonight, try to learn from where we went wrong and we’ll go again,” insisted Downes, who has now made 27 appearances in claret and blue since his £9 million summer move from Swansea City.
“We are due a result against a big team and I think it’s coming. We got a big win against Fulham last weekend and that’s a huge positive for us to take into the game.
“Remember, we had some big results against the top six last season and when you look at our team, we’re a good team.
“We certainly don’t fear Arsenal – they’re coming to our home and we’re going to take them on. Bring on Sunday!”
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