“We need to keep this mentality” – Emerson reflects positively after 1-1 draw with Aston Villa

West Ham fans were in a panic after the opening few minutes at Villa Park, down 1-0 after just 8 minutes thanks to an avoidable goal from Jacob Ramsey inside eight minutes. Villa continued to dominate for a while before Potter’s side began to get more of a foothold in the game.

The Hammers took advantage of that as a great move which was wrapped up with a superb cross from Edson Alvarez before a cushioned header into the back of the net from Emerson.

The Italy International said: “I think I had two chances today,” he recalled, correctly. “With the first one, I think I lost a bit of time [deciding whether to go] with the header or with my feet [and it was saved by Emiliano Martínez], but in the second half, I went with the header and of course it was nice to score. I think it was my first headed goal, so I’m happy with that!”

It was the teams performance in the second period that impressed fans both in Birmingham and this watching at home, and this opinion was shared with Emerson on the pitch.

Emerson said: “We did very well, especially in the second half,” the No33 told West Ham TV. “We created a lot of chances and I think in the end we can even win the game. But in the end, we drew, but we take this point and we move on.

“It’s not easy to play here. We did very well, so we need just to keep this mentality, the focus for the next games.

“We suffered a bit in the first ten to 15 minutes. And after we were consistent. Afterwards, we controlled the game, and I think we played better with the ball. Even without the ball, we pressed very well. In the second half, we created a lot of chances.

The 30-year-old was also keen to praise the Hammer faithful as all 3,000 of the travelling supporters didn’t stop singing for 90 minutes. He said: ““Our supporters are always special, and we can always feel them. They helped us a lot for 90 minutes today, and they were unbelievable. They fought with us for every ball, and we’re happy because we gave them a good performance. Hopefully we can keep that going in the weeks ahead.”

Emerson really impressed throughout the majority of the season last time out, however this season he has been very hit and miss. With it looking like Graham Potter will adopt a back 5 formation, Emerson is all but guaranteed the left wing-back position where he is able to thrive by showing his attacking qualities that all Hammers fans know he has in abundance.