Konstantinos Mavropanos was grateful that West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was on top form during their “disappointing” game against Bournemouth.
Over the past couple of months, Mavropanos has finally gotten his chance to play consistently at West Ham. As a whole, he has done pretty well during this time and just needs to cut out the odd mistake in order to solidify himself as a nailed-on starter.
The Greek defender had another solid game against Bournemouth, but he understood that as a unit the Hammers did not play well enough. “I think it was a tough game today, but we got a point and that was the least we could do,” Mavropanos told the official site.
“It was a disappointing start to the game, but there was plenty of time to turn it around. In the first half we didn’t play as well as we should have, but I think we had some positive moments. I think we should have done better.”
“We didn’t have the energy that we should have had in our attack, and when we got forward we didn’t create enough opportunities. It was the energy we missed today.”
While there were a number of subpar performances from a West Ham perspective, goalkeeper Alphonse Areola kept his side in the game with some world-class saves and ‘Dinos’ was keen to praise him for his unbelievable display. “He [Areola] is a top goalkeeper and he has been in every game. I don’t have many things to say but he’s at the top level.”
With Nayef Aguerd returning from AFCON, Mavropanos is hoping he has done enough to keep his place in the starting XI for the foreseeable future, beginning with Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford.
“That’s my goal, to keep playing as many games as possible and give everything I have for the team,” he explained. “Hopefully, that will help us get some points and good results.”
“They [Manchester United] are another tough opponent, and playing away from home is always difficult. We have to think about them and go there to give our all.”