West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski previews their UEFA Europa League clash with Backa Topola
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00:00 - Hi Lucas, it's Steve from the New Recorder.
00:03 - Hi, you okay?
00:04 - Have you had a good trip out, everyone?
00:07 - Yeah, it was a bit long, but it's okay.
00:09 It's all good, we're here, so that's the main thing.
00:12 - Cool.
00:13 I was trying to talk to you earlier,
00:14 see, you know, you look at West Ham over the last
00:17 two years, been to, you see, have 32nd game in Europe
00:21 and 13 different countries, so as a player,
00:24 what's it like to keep coming to different--
00:27 - No, I mean like--
00:28 - Different cultures?
00:29 - No, no, like obviously with the games,
00:32 you don't really have a chance to actually experience
00:35 more than just being in the hotel and playing the game
00:40 and then coming back the day after,
00:41 but I think in general, it's a great experience
00:46 to be able to travel all over the Europe
00:48 and compete against different teams, different styles.
00:52 So I think for a club like us, it's brilliant
00:56 for all the players, for all the--
00:58 - Recording in progress.
01:00 - All the fans as well, so I believe, yeah,
01:04 just generally, great meeting to be in Europe
01:07 for three consecutive years and yeah, long may it continue.
01:12 - Sure, and also, you look at the upcoming schedule
01:17 as well for the team as a whole, we've got 10 matches
01:19 in something like 34 days, everyone's gonna be needed.
01:24 This is probably where the squad really comes
01:27 into its own, isn't it?
01:28 - Yes, obviously it's very demanding schedule,
01:32 but at the same time, I think we actually work for that.
01:35 So we wanted to be the team that will be competing
01:39 in different competition and we have opportunity
01:42 obviously to play in Europe, at the same time,
01:45 we progressed well in the league cup.
01:47 So I think that only speaks volumes
01:49 about how we progressing as a team,
01:52 how we developing as a team and I think
01:56 playing that many games for the first year in a row,
02:01 I think as well, we as players,
02:03 I think we got used to it as well.
02:05 So it's not something that we are afraid of.
02:08 I think we have experienced from the previous years
02:10 that we can actually manage it.
02:11 So yeah, we happy where we are and we actually,
02:14 we're really looking forward to them games
02:17 'cause like I said, I think every single player
02:19 is actually hoping that they're gonna get the opportunity
02:23 to play their part in the game.
02:25 So I think, yeah, it's a good thing for the club.
02:29 - Well, also for you personally, it's gonna give you,
02:31 you know, you're in the Alphonse sort of buying
02:34 for that sort of a glove.
02:35 So from your point of view as well,
02:37 it gives you opportunities with tomorrow night,
02:41 Freiburg, Liverpool in the Carabao Cup,
02:44 there's a lot of opportunities.
02:45 - No, yes, like for me personally, obviously,
02:47 it's like a good challenge to play in them cup games
02:55 I didn't play in Europe the last two years.
02:58 Now the roles are a bit different,
03:00 but I'm really looking forward to every single game now
03:03 and I try to just to do my best
03:06 and then play the best I can help the team.
03:09 And then I just hope as well that we're gonna,
03:12 you know, have a good performance tomorrow,
03:15 deliver a good result and yeah, see how it goes.
03:20 - Thanks, and last one for me,
03:22 I know you've had a long journey today.
03:24 So my last question really is,
03:26 obviously, back against Poland,
03:28 gave us a little bit of a fright at London Stadium
03:30 and on match day one,
03:31 and they were scoring,
03:32 they went one-nil up
03:33 and obviously we had to battle back.
03:35 On Saturday, they beat team at the top of the table
03:38 in Serbia, Partizan, Belgrade, 4-0.
03:41 So I guess from a West Ham point of view,
03:44 can't take anything for granted.
03:46 - No, no, no, no.
03:48 No, like you said, even in the first game,
03:51 they were really difficult team to play against.
03:54 So we really had to dig deep to actually get a result.
03:58 And now knowing that they managed to beat
04:03 one of the biggest teams in Serbia, 4-0,
04:09 it just means that they're gonna,
04:12 or they are really good team, strong team.
04:15 Obviously, playing at home is gonna be,
04:20 I think, very, very difficult challenge for us.
04:24 But I think we came prepared, we came ready
04:26 and hopefully we'll be able to, like I said,
04:29 to put in a good performance and get a good result.
04:33 - Thank you.
04:34 - Thanks, Steve.
04:34 - Okay, thank you.
04:35 - This one from Leo here.
04:36 - I was just gonna ask you,
04:38 obviously tomorrow is an opportunity to make sure
04:40 we can go into the last game still top of the group.
04:43 How important is it to not just qualify,
04:45 but also to win the group?
04:47 - No, like obviously it's very important
04:49 because we all know that if you finish
04:54 by winning the group, you avoid one stage of the competition
04:59 and then you go directly into the next one.
05:01 So I think it's very important.
05:04 Like it has been mentioned here,
05:05 with the amount of games that we have in December,
05:08 I think it's always good to make sure that we,
05:12 by our performances and the results,
05:14 we can maybe skip some of them,
05:17 which are, you know, in the end very useful for us.
05:20 So I think, yeah, finishing top of the group,
05:23 making sure that we are there at the end of the group stage,
05:26 I think is very, very important for us.