West Ham United forward Manuel Lanzini has stated that confidence is "very important" in football, with the Hammers looking to gain a crucial three points on Saturday against Everton.

Need to take the points

It has been a tough time for the London club in the past weeks and months, with Slaven Bilić's side dropping all the way down the Premier League table. A seven-game streak without a victory has left them five points above the relegation zone at one point.

Things have picked up of late after the crucial victory over Swansea City, and though a disappointing result, they still managed to take a point last Saturday in the 2-2 draw with Sunderland.

Focus will turn to Saturday afternoon as the Hammers will look to break the 40-point mark and make their case for a top-half finish.

But they will face a tough test against Ronald Koeman's men, who are bang in form, but Lanzini insisted that the side have been working on their confidence and are prepared for this weekend's match-up.

“I think confidence in football is very important," Lanzini told whufc.com. "Because when you have confidence you can try anything and it’s OK.”

“The last game with Sunderland, for example, we played very well in the first 30 minutes," the Argentine said. "But, after they scored, the game was difficult because they pressed us."

The 24-year-old added: "We have been working on this and we will be OK on Saturday. We need to take points [on Saturday]. It’s going to be a very difficult game but we are ready to work and ready to play and that’s it.”

Pressure isn't a bad thing

​It has been an excellent debut season at Goodison Park for Koeman and the Toffees, with the Merseyside club sitting seven points outside the top-four places with Champions League qualification still a realistic possibility.

The man that has shone brightest has been Romelu Lukaku who has 24 league goals thus far, but despite criticism from different sources across the season Ross Barkley has started to show his qualities.

It was a big week for Barkley last weekend giving his controversies off the pitch, but delivered a goal in the 3-1 win over Burnley. But Lanzini says that Everton are a good side and had special praise for Barkley.

"Ronald Koeman has a good striker in Romelu Lukaku, who is an amazing player," he said. "They also have Ross Barkley, who is a very good player."

"I don’t think he is thinking about the pressure people are putting on him," the attacking midfielder continued. “He has a good touch, good finishing and good recovery, so he is a very good player. I don’t think the pressure is a bad thing for him."

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Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.