West Ham have “ridden their luck” so far according to Alex Keble as he assessed who could finish in the potential 5th Champions League place.

For the first time ever, this season could see the top five in the Premier League all qualify for the Champions League. This comes ahead of the format change to European football next season and it depends on if English clubs can be in the top two performing nations across all three UEFA club competitions.

The Hammers are well underway in their 3rd consecutive European campaign after winning the Europa Conference League last season but have never played in the Champions League.

Despite some extremely difficult fixtures, David Moyes’ side currently sit in 7th place in the league with their only two losses being against Liverpool and Manchester City.

However, Alex Keble told the official Premier League website that West Ham’s start may be deceiving to how they’ve really played.

“West Ham have ridden their luck a little” he wrote. “Their high league position partly reflects the fact they have already played (and beaten) both Sheffield United and Luton.” While this is true, he fails to mention that we have also beat both Brighton and Chelsea. He also puts the draw to Newcastle purely down to them being “tired”.

Additionally, there is no talk about how three of Aston Villa’s wins came against Everton, Burnley and Crystal Palace. It seems like another case of the media undermining how good we have been this season.

“Are West Ham really in the hunt for fifth, or have their first eight matches provided a false narrative?” Keble questioned.

The East London side won’t mind going under the radar though, it adds less pressure on the players, not to mention giving them a point to prove.

This lack of faith in West Ham is something we’ve seen repeatedly over the years from the media. Not many fans are expecting or even hopeful that we will get Champions League football this season but to almost put us out of the running would be a massive mistake. Under Moyes, this club has gone beyond what us fans would have ever expected, so who’s to say he can’t surprise us once again?

By Charlie Bass