Jenkinson aims to get Hammers back on track at Tottenham
West Ham defender Carl Jenkinson wants to knock Tottenham Hotspur off their perch in this weekend’s London derby at White Hart Lane.
Sam Allardyce’s team go to north London without a Premier League win since January 18 when they coasted past Hull City.
But full-back Jenkinson, on loan from Spurs’ bitter rivals Arsenal, believes West Ham can pick up all three points against Mauricio Pochettino’s team on Sunday.
“They’ve always had some good players and they’ve been doing well lately,” Jenkinson told the club website whufc.com.
“It’s important we knock them off their perch a little bit and that’s the mentality we need to bring into the game.
“Tottenham is a huge game. It always is anyway, but particularly after a heavy defeat. There’s a lot of disappointment around the club at the moment and we need to turn it around and get back on track.
“We’re a great side as well and play to our strengths. If we do that, we have a great chance of getting a good result.”
Beaten 4-0 at West Brom in the FA Cup last weekend, West Ham’s two great wins at White Hart Lane last season will live long in the memory of supporters.
But Spurs enacted some revenge on the opening day of this season with a 1-0 success at Upton Park and Jenkinson is keen to pay back the favour.
Being an Arsenal player as well makes this match even more special and he added: “This is the first time I’ve played against Tottenham for a different club other than Arsenal, it’s always a game you never want to lose.
“As they beat us earlier in the season we’re desperate to go there, play well and get a result.
“Everyone seems to lift themselves for the bigger games that bit more. We’ve done very well in the big games and it’s important we keep on doing that.”
Tottenham were in action last night (Thursday) and were held by Italian side Fiorentina to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their last round of 32 Europa League tie at White Hart Lane.
Jenkinson is happy West Ham will be fully refreshed by the time they face Spurs at noon on Sunday and concedes the last three games have been extremely tiring affairs.
He added: “They usually change their squad a bit for the Europa League, they have a big enough squad to cope with it.
“It’s good for us because we have time to get a few injured players back to fitness as well as giving us a bit of a break. We’ve had a lot of games recently, so it’s good to be able to recover.”
Tottenham’s main dangerman will be Harry Kane and Jenkinson is keen to keep him quiet, but he admits the English forward deserves all the praise coming his way this campaign.
“He’s been excellent this season. I know him quite well from us playing together in the England under-21s,” added Jenkinson.
“He is a nice lad and good footballer, he works hard and he’s reaping the reward of that.
“He deserves all the praise he’s getting at the moment. I think he’s going to be a big player for England in future, but I hope we keep him quiet this weekend.”
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