Michail Antonio has warned Lyon that West Ham are ready for a fight to conquer their dark arts as they bid to reach the Europa League semi-finals.
The Hammers arrive in France with the tie finely poised at 1-1 following a first leg in which Peter Bosz’s side used every trick in the book to get under the skin of their hosts, which resulted in Aaron Cresswell being sent off.
Former Fulham man Moussa Dembele was seen winking at a team-mate after drawing the foul which led to Cresswell’s dismissal, and David Moyes warned last week that football can come back to bite you.
Antonio insisted that the antics from last week were not needed to bring an edge to this quarter-final, but warned their Ligue 1 hosts that the Hammers were up for a fight.
“There’s always an edge,” said Antonio. “It’s a quarter-final. We know we need to go out there and win. Last week was edgy, tonight is going to be edgy and tonight there’s going to be a fight.”
Moyes was critical of his side’s performance at the London Stadium last week and is now without France international Kurt Zouma, who is sidelined with an ankle injury, as well as Cresswell.
Despite those setbacks, West Ham are still pushing to go all the way, having battled their way from relegation scraps to the last eight in Europe.
“The way things are going now, we’re going to win it,” said a defiant Antonio.
“We’re in it to win it. When we’ve had knock-backs, we’ve always come back from them. Last week [in the first leg], we showed our resilience.
“We believe we can come here and win the game. That’s the plan. It’s been a physical season, a lot of games, but you can see the resilience we have.
“It’s a great opportunity for us. It’s a dream come true to get this far and we’re not going to let anyone take it from us.
“One thing the gaffer has given us is the self-belief that we can beat anybody. That’s the confidence he has given us — to go out there and give your all to win the games.”
Antonio has scored just twice since the turn of the year and, while putting in encouraging performances, Moyes has said now is the time for him to deliver.
“I’m disappointed I’ve not scored in a while,” said Antonio.
“This is the longest streak I’ve had of not scoring a goal in my career. But one thing about football is that it isn’t about you, it is about being a team player. I’m definitely bringing the team together. As much as I’m not scoring, I feel that I’m helping out.”
