GUDMUNDSSON AIMING TO PUT TOGETHER PERFECT PERFORMANCE

Winger looks ahead to Saturday’s meeting with the Hammers

Johann Berg Gudmundsson is back from international duty with his native Iceland and is raring to get going against West Ham.

Following UEFA EURO Qualifiers against Slovakia and Portugal, the winger turns his attention to the league and is keen to build on the positives from recent performances.

“I feel good, I’m looking forward to being back and playing in the Premier League. Two home games coming up, two extremely important games, starting off with West Ham. A difficult game but something that we should look forward to and get Turf Moor bouncing again.

“Every game is extremely difficult in the Premier League, but we know we could have done a bit better in a few of our home games but after every game we try to learn, we try to get better and that’s what we’ve been trying to do. Hopefully we can put out a great performance, a performance of a good defensive set up, attacking and scoring goals as well. So, it’s just about getting the balance right and we’ve been working extremely hard on that and hopefully we get the three points.”

Thirteen Clarets joined up with their respective countries during the international break and Gudmundsson was asked whether he believes players coming back at different times poses any additional challenges ahead of Saturday’s game.

“Yes, probably a little bit but I think that the whole group will be together from Thursday, I mean it’s the same for every club, so it’s no different for us. We just get on with it, it is what it is.

“We know the style we want to play, and we’ve got time to prepare for West Ham, a difficult game, it’s the same for everybody so it’s no problem on our side.”

The Icelandic came close to scoring in the previous two fixtures, against Crystal Palace and away at Arsenal, as he searches for his first Premier League goal since his opener in the Clarets win over the Eagles in February 2021.

“Both games, pretty close so I’ll be trying again on Saturday. I know we as a team, we need to try to score more goals, definitely. It’s extremely hard in this league. And also defend as a team, to get a clean sheet, that’s something we’ve been lacking this season as well and hopefully it’ll all come together on Saturday.”

A senior pro in the squad, Gudmundsson believes the Clarets have shown improvement in recent performances and is confident he and his teammates have what it takes to get positive results.

“It’s definitely something you can build on. We know how great this group is, it’s just about getting a perfect performance together which is extremely hard in this league, defensively and attacking wise. But I think we’re getting closer every game, we’re definitely not panicking, we’re still working on the things we know are going to get us through this tough period.”

International breaks in quick succession have resulted in league football being a welcome return for many and Gudmundsson is hoping to get Turf Moor bouncing on Saturday afternoon.

“Yes, especially for the fans, I mean they get a bit bored of international breaks. For me it’s a bit different, I travel away to different countries, so I’m quite busy!

“But I get it from the fans, they want to get back, especially to Turf Moor, where hopefully the atmosphere is going to be amazing, and we can give them a performance. It’s up to us as well to get the fans on our side and perform to the best of our ability.”