West Ham Women’s captain Dagny Brynjarsdottir has talked up her team’s prodigious work ethic ahead of the Continental League Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea this week.

Our main strength is our work ethic,” said the Icelandic international. We want to out-work the opponent. We work for each other defensively and we back each other up. We’re a good group. We don’t have one stand-out player. We do it together.”

That togetherness was certainly on show in the goalless draw at the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Sunday, as the Hammers produced a determined display to deny Arsenal three precious points in their WSL title bid.

It was a performance that thrilled boss Paul Konchesky whose attention to detail has helped the Hammers to five clean sheets in their past seven games.

At West Ham we have a great staff,” said Brynjarsdottir. “We have analysts who tell us where we’re going to attack, where the space is going to be open. How we defend as a team. How we attack as a team. They look at each individual on the opponent’s team – what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Konchesky’s side will need to be laser-focused for Thursday’s game with Chelsea. The WSL leaders boast a star-studded line-up of global talent, and Brynjarsdottir is under no illusions about the task in front of her.

“Chelsea are probably one of the top teams in the world at the moment,” she said. We have to have the right gameplan. First and foremost, we have to defend well. Then we have chances in front of goal we have to take them.”

After a record crowd roared them on against Arsenal, the team are hoping that another big attendance will inspire them to overcome their underdog status.

Sunday was amazing. Hopefully we can get that again on Thursday, because we definitely heard the fans – and they definitely helped us graft for the point.”

West Ham United Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup semi-final with Chelsea on Thursday (9 February) evening will be simulcast on BBC iPlayer and The FA Player.

You can get behind the team in Dagenham on Thursday evening, with tickets available from as little as £8 for Adults and £3 for Juniors. Visit Women’s Team Matches | West Ham United F.C. (whufc.com) for details.