West Ham right back Lars jacobsen refuses to look at the league table

WEST HAM may be bottom of the Premier League table, but defender Lars Jacobsen has the ideal way of keeping that out of his mind – he keeps his eyes shut!

Despite Saturday’s battling 1-1 draw with Fulham at Upton Park, Everton’s win at Birmingham leapfrogged the Toffees out of the basement and relegated the Hammers back to the bottom.

“I don’t look at the table,” said the Denmark international full back. “I close my eyes and all the West Ham fans should do the same at the moment.

“If you look at the last four games it certainly is a false position and that’s what we have to look at really. Take the positives and say we are unbeaten in four, drawn two and won two.

“We cannot allow ourselves to look at the table right now, that would be stupid. I’m pretty sure that with the form we are showing, we will get up the table, it is just a matter of time.”

That is the sort of talking the Hammers need at the moment, and the experienced defender has certainly brought some much-needed stability to the defence since his deadline-day arrival from Blackburn Rovers.

Since the departure of Lucas Neill the season before last, West Ham have used the likes of Julien Faubert, Jonathan Spector, Danny Gabbidon, Kieron Dyer, Winston Reid and Tel Ben Haim at right back – not one of them is a recognised full back.

Now Jacobsen has come in, played steadily in defence, got forward and delivered crosses and it feels like a breath of fresh air for the Hammers’ fans.

“I think I have had a very good start and I am very happy that the fans seem to be behind me as well,” said the 31-year-old after his fourth appearance in claret and blue.

“It is not easy when you get to a new club and the fans don’t like you, so I must thank them for their support and I hope I can continue performing well for the club and we can get up the table.”

Jacobsen may have lost his place at Blackburn last season, but he has been a fixture in the Denmark team to keep himself match fit, and he still feels that he is working his way back towards his best.

“Obviously I didn’t play that much in the last half a year for Blackburn. It is about getting into that rhythm again of playing week in, week out,” he said.

“Now I am going away on international duty, hopefully get two games there as well, so it is a lot of games in a short time for me.

“I have to keep improving and keep on bringing up my physical level and hopefully I can continue doing that for most of the season.”

Jacobsen had one tricky moment against Fulham when he collided with Eddie Johnson in the penalty area, though both he and the referee decided that it was accidental and not a penalty.

But in the end, the Dane thought the result was a fair one.

“I think you can’t complain about the point,” he said. “If you watch the game I think it was very even. We passed the ball better last week and sometimes you have to admit that the other team played well and Fulham certainly did that.”

Whatever the position in the table, West Ham are improving, but now they face a week off for the internationals just as they were beginning to put together a run.

Jacobsen will look for victories in Portugal and at home to Cyprus in the next week, and he hopes that the break will not affect West Ham.

“It is always an honour to play for your country. I am always looking to go away and play for Denmark, but at the same time it is a shame because we are in a bit of a rhythm, West Ham haven’t lost for four games in a row, so you just want to keep on playing,” he said.

“It is a bit of shame when you are on a good roll like we are right now, but hopefully I can get myself fitter, improve my confidence by going away with Denmark, playing two good games and coming back with my head held high and in good spirits.”

West Ham fans are certainly in good spirits when they think about Jacobsen – a right back – playing in the right back slot for the Hammers.

Now they are just hoping that he doesn’t emulate Thomas Hitzlsperger when he went off on international duty and came back injured.

Better to take Jacobsen’s advice – just keep your eyes shut and hope for the best.