Hammers defender insists club need to look to future
West Ham defender Matthew Upson has stated the club's desire to bounce back from their Carling Cup exit to Birmingham on Wednesday.
The Hammers were beaten by the Blues in extra time in the semi-final despite having a 3-1 lead on aggregate at the end of the first-half of the second leg.
It was yet another disappointment for Avram Grant's side after getting into such a position and with the club struggling at the foot of the Premier League.
They have the chance to banish the blues to some extent by beating Nottingham Forest at Upton Park on Saturday in the FA Cup, before a tough trip to Blackpool the following Wednesday.
Upson admitted that the frustration of losing out on a place at Wembley has hurt the team badly, but it was up to them to bounce back.
Difficult
"It's very difficult," he told the club's official website.
"We discussed a lot of things in terms of the momentum of the game, retaining possession better and taking the sting out of the game. You know that teams like Birmingham, if they have got to score two goals, are going to throw everything at you.
"Trying to the pick the bones out of that afterwards was a painful experience, really. We're certainly disappointed. It's a big low point, but we've got to move forwards.
"We're really disappointed to have got into the position where we were and not made it through to Wembley."
"I wouldn't say it's a confidence issue.
"It's just our mentality in the second half of late. We played very well in the first half and we've regularly looked in control of the games after 45 minutes this season.
"I think we've shown we're capable of playing good football and grabbing hold of the game and actually looking like we can win them."
The Hammers were beaten by the Blues in extra time in the semi-final despite having a 3-1 lead on aggregate at the end of the first-half of the second leg.
It was yet another disappointment for Avram Grant's side after getting into such a position and with the club struggling at the foot of the Premier League.
They have the chance to banish the blues to some extent by beating Nottingham Forest at Upton Park on Saturday in the FA Cup, before a tough trip to Blackpool the following Wednesday.
Upson admitted that the frustration of losing out on a place at Wembley has hurt the team badly, but it was up to them to bounce back.
Difficult
"It's very difficult," he told the club's official website.
"We discussed a lot of things in terms of the momentum of the game, retaining possession better and taking the sting out of the game. You know that teams like Birmingham, if they have got to score two goals, are going to throw everything at you.
"Trying to the pick the bones out of that afterwards was a painful experience, really. We're certainly disappointed. It's a big low point, but we've got to move forwards.
"We're really disappointed to have got into the position where we were and not made it through to Wembley."
"I wouldn't say it's a confidence issue.
"It's just our mentality in the second half of late. We played very well in the first half and we've regularly looked in control of the games after 45 minutes this season.
"I think we've shown we're capable of playing good football and grabbing hold of the game and actually looking like we can win them."
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