Michail Antonio has vowed to conjure a goal celebration to go viral - as he predicted Europa League glory for West Ham.
The Hammers’ striker says David Moyes’ confident squad is not ready to let their continental heroics end against Lyon, in a finely poised quarter final. He will lead the line against the French giants with the game level at 1-1, and Moyes insisting his boys can progress further on the “big stage”.
Antonio last scored in Europe in September against Dynamo Zagreb in a 2-0 win and has gone eight games without a goal since the FA Cup in March. He is known for his goal joy, including creating a scene from the Matrix, various dances, doing a worm move, and a Running Man celebration.
And he said: “It has been a little while since I scored. Because it is such a big game, I have a big-occasion celebration! You will see it tomorrow. I actually work quite hard on celebrations. I look at YouTube for something I feel that can go viral. There's certain things I have to practise, like when I do the worm. I knew I could do it when I was younger but now I'm thinking, 'Can I still do it?' So I'll be in the hotel room doing the worm. Those are the types of things I do, so I hope it works out on the day. This is the longest streak (not scoring) in my career. But football is about being a team player, I believe I am bringing the team together, assisting goals, bringing players in.”
In a rally cry to West Ham who have lost Kurt Zouma to injury and Aaron Cresswell to suspension, he said: “The boys are buzzing, and I am buzzing and the way we feel now we’re going to win it! It has been a brilliant season. We have been resilient and when we have had knock-backs we have always come back from them. It has been a physical season, lots of games (48) but there are lots of players used to playing lots of games. It is a great opportunity for us. It is a dream come true to get this far and we won’t let anyone take it from us.
“The one thing the gaffer has given us is self belief. That we can beat anyone. When he came in he said we can always score goals, once we have shored up the back, you can guarantee we will score goals. That’s the confidence he has given us. We have beaten Liverpool this season, and had good games against Man City, He gives us that drive and self belief.”
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The gravity of the game wasn’t lost on Moyes either. He’s rebuilt his career after flops at Manchester United and Sunderland and said: “I always thought if a club gave me the opportunity I was good enough to do it. If a club with potential came in… at Everton I did it over time. West Ham are a club that has more room to progress and get better. We have got better quickly in a short period. Then you get put on this stage.
“I think for West Ham, it is a great time. Last year I was thinking: is it possible we could make the Europa League?That would be fantastic. Then I remember us celebrating getting there. Then we won our group. We beat teams who have been knocked out of the Champions League, Seville.
“This is a great occasion. I want to stay in it, keep going. Our form in the early season was so good. We built up our confidence. So it has been a great credit to the players for how they have done it. Put to the test we have risen to the challenge and we will be tested again.”
