Shekiera Martinez hails ‘morale and togetherness’ as West Ham make improvements

Shekiera Martinez hailed the “morale and togetherness” of West Ham as they continue to make improvements this season.

Despite suffering a 4-3 defeat to Arsenal at the start of March, the Hammers then enjoyed an impressive run to earn draws against Women’s Super League heavyweights Manchester City and Chelsea, along with a win over Tottenham.

Having accumulated five points from those four outings, West Ham are seventh in the WSL table and with 19 points, they have already exceeded last season’s tally of 15.

Martinez has been influential since making her debut in January and after being awarded Barclays Player of the Month for March, the striker believes that the Hammers are getting better in every game.

She told the PA news agency: “On paper, I’m sure people wouldn’t have expected us to get the results we did in March but we have shown that we can challenge the best teams in the league.

“No matter who we are playing, we never give up. The morale and togetherness in this group is amazing and that’s showing on the pitch – our performances are continuing to improve every single match.”

Martinez scored three times last month, but arguably her best outing came in West Ham’s 2-2 draw against reigning champions Chelsea, where she bagged a brace to snatch a late point.

She now has five goals in eight league matches for the Hammers and with four games left, the forward insisted she can still show more.

“I love testing myself against the best players and the best teams – that’s why I wanted to move to West Ham last summer,” Martinez added.

“I have a lot of confidence in my own ability and I know that the manager and my team-mates do as well. I think I’ve shown a glimpse of what I’m capable of but I know I have a lot more to offer and areas of my game still to develop.

“I want to keep working hard to help the team finish the season as strong as we can.”