Football
ESPN staff 8y

West Ham good enough to win Europa League - David Gold

West Ham co-owner David Gold says that the club are good enough to win the Europa League next season as they face an awkward start to life in the Olympic Stadium.

The Hammers will be playing in Europe for the second consecutive season after Manchester United won the FA Cup, meaning that seventh place in the Premier League table qualified for the Europa League.

And Gold was delighted that his side were able to finish the season on a high.

"There was so much hanging on it [the FA Cup final] for West Ham fans and we were all left celebrating as we are back in Europe for the second consecutive year," he told the club website. "As we prepare for the big move into the new Stadium this is another exciting challenge for the football Club.

"Liverpool showed it is possible to go all the way and they were very unlucky to lose in the [Europa League] Final. They could have been in the Champions League next season.

"We should take this competition seriously and we are good enough to win it. It will also be another great opportunity for our young players to get European experience and a number of them showed their quality when we played in the early rounds last summer."

Juventus were set to officially open the Olympic Stadium in the Betway Cup on Aug. 7, but a Europa League playoff clash against a European minnow will now be the first official game.

However, with Europa matches due to be played on July 28 and Aug. 4, if they are drawn at home first then the Olympic Stadium will not be ready due to UK Athletics events scheduled and a seven-day turnaround period to get it ready for football. If that happens, the club will likely request a reversal of the fixture rather than try and find another ground to play in.

Some fans are not happy with a Europa League game opening the new stadium and Tweeted Gold to register their disapproval.

However, the club's co-chairman insisted: "We said farewell to the Boleyn Ground with a thrilling match and a magnificent atmosphere under the lights. Our game against Juventus remains the official opening of our iconic new Stadium but a European qualification game will be the perfect preparation for that."

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