Alvaro Arbeloa: ‘West Ham are not a Championship team’

Fulham manager Alvaro Arbeloa has said that West Ham are ‘not a Championship team’ ahead of their Carabao Cup Third Round clash.

The Hammers were relegated from the Premier League last season and made a slow start to life in the second flight, but have since adapted with a very strong set of results and have now won their last four Championship matches on the bounce.

That form, combined with the fact that they managed to keep the bulk of the side that were in the Premier League last season, losing only Crysencio Summerville to Al Hilal and Matheus Fernandes to Tottenham, means they are very much the overwhelming favourites to storm to Championship glory.

It also means that Fulham’s clash with the Hammers on Tuesday night is not going to be an easy one by any stretch of the imagination.

The Cottagers make the trip across London hoping to advance to the fourth round and give them a further confidence boost ahead of their home Premier League tie against Manchester United on Sunday.

It follows a 0-0 draw with Liverpool, in which Arbeloa managed against his former side and he now is set to take charge against another of his former sides just days later.

That is something he is excited about, but he is also more than wary of the threat that West Ham bring and made it clear that he does not see them as a team from the league below Fulham.

“What a week for me! And another London Derby – Chelsea, Crystal Palace, now West Ham,” he said.

“An away game in another difficult stadium, against a team that are performing so well. They won their last game 6-0 [against Wrexham], they beat Southampton in the Carabao Cup, also, so we know them.

“They are a difficult team with top players. 

“Even some of them have Premier League-level [experience], so for me they are not a Championship team. If we want to beat them, we need to perform so well.”

Fulham’s point against Liverpool was clearly their best result of the season, after they initially struggled to get off the mark in the Premier League with a slow start.

Now, the club will look to back up that result with another good result and hope to advance into the next round of the competition with a win over a side that are in form.

It is no wonder then that Arbeloa has made it clear that Fulham are treating this game as if it is a final, with a place in the next stage of the competition and confidence up for grabs for the Cottagers.

“For me, we want to win all the games, so the target for us tomorrow is win the game, because if we don't win the game, we are out of the competition. 

“So, we know that it’s a final for us. It's very important to beat them and to try to go to the next round.”