“My career is clearly on the decline and relegation is coming. It’s really difficult to be in those feelings and emotions, both as a group and as a club.”
Mads Hermansen has reflected on the pain of last season’s relegation from the Premier League during his time at Leicester City. This is not an experience he wants to repeat at West Ham.
The goalkeeper has been open and honest about the tension and pressure at the bottom of the Premier League.
But he said there had been “a lot” of lessons learned from last season, and there is now cautious optimism that the team’s “unity” can help them avoid the same fate as the Foxes, after West Ham’s 4-0 thrashing of Wolves gave them hope of survival.
“We’ve been in this situation for months,” Hermansen says of West Ham’s struggles this season. “It’s not easy to work with the fear of where you’re going to end up, but I commend everyone at this club for lifting my spirits and making me believe we can turn things around.”
West Ham’s victory over Wolves lifted them out of the relegation zone for the first time in a month. But London rivals Tottenham, as well as Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, are far from safe, and it looks like this battle will be a fine line.
Hermansen believes unity is essential if West Ham are to continue winning. When asked about the strength of the group, he says, “Our unity, our relationships.” “There are a lot of great people here who each give their individuality to the team and give their all for the club.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Premier League match between West Ham and Wolves
Denmark’s Hermansen also had to show personal resilience this season.
The highly-rated 25-year-old was signed as the Hammers’ number one last summer but was dropped by manager Alphonse Areola after the team conceded 11 goals in just four Premier League games.
He did not play again until the FA Cup win over QPR in January, and his Premier League return had to wait until against Burnley on 7 February.
However, since his return, he has made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League, keeping four clean sheets in eight games.
Hermansen has impressed since rejoining the West Ham squad in early February.
“I wanted to come in and prove to my teammates, the club and the fans that it was the right decision for them to have me. Of course, the performance was not what I wanted,” said Hermansen, reflecting on the difficult start. “I’m happy to have another chance to show what I’m capable of.”
Hermansen said he was “proud” of how he used his time away from the team to improve his game so he was ready to step up when needed.
“It was a tough time, but it also gave me an opportunity to show who I am, how disciplined I am and how hard I can work for a long period of time,” he said. “I proved to myself what I can really do when the going gets tough.
“I’m proud of the work I did during that period and the way I was able to bring it to the pitch. It’s really great to have a great performance and a great result with the team.”
Hermansen punches the ball out of danger at Villa Park
What areas of the game did he focus on? “I’m a pretty emotional person and when things get emotional I try to ask myself how can I take all this emotional stuff out of the football part of my life? And then I just finish my job and do the best I can. So every night when I go to bed I say to myself, I’ve done everything I can to improve and to present myself as the best version possible.”
“Those questions that I had to ask myself during that period, I really learned to carry that back with me now when I’m playing, and it helped me a lot.
“It’s easy to come out of a tough time and say it was really good for me, but I really learned a lot from it.”
Hermansen, like West Ham, came back stronger for the run-in. But he and his teammates are well aware that the work is not done yet.
“We believe in ourselves a lot,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough situation, but I believe there’s a lot we can do.”
