Following successive defeats, the Hammers picked up three points against Wolverhampton Wanderers which saw Soucek fire in a well-placed header to open the scoring. Speaking to the club's website, the Czech Republic international spoke of the much-needed victory for manager Julen Lopetegui.
“This was a massive win for us because we were playing at home and everyone was a bit under pressure,” he reflected. “We wanted to do maximum effort. I was so happy we took the three points.
“We know where we are in the table. The pressure is always high, even when you’re doing well in the league. Now that we are a little bit down in terms of league position, you feel it even more.
“We feel it outside, from the media, even if we don’t want to read it, it still comes to us. But that’s football, it’s full of ups and downs and we must deal with that. That’s the reason I’m so happy we won that game.”
The pressure has been building for the Spanish head coach with his job reportedly on the line the last few weeks. A win against Wolves and another great chance at three points against the Cherries on Monday night is the perfect way for him to build momentum as Soucek explained.
“I think tough moments make the bond in the group stronger. I said in the changing room that I don’t want to see any more defeats this calendar year. And that starts at Bournemouth which will no doubt be a tough game.
“The manager told us to enjoy the pressure. There will be a day when we can’t play football anymore and we will miss this pressure. We took it on board and we want to build on the Wolves win.
“When I see our training sessions, we have so much more to show (in matches). We want to show our style and deliver results with this system.”
Europe is the target for West Ham this season and the 29-year-old believes they will qualify if the team can build on the win against Wolves.
“I’ve had three seasons in a row in Europe during my time at West Ham. We love playing in these competitions and the fans do too. For me, the dream is to go back to Europe. We are not there now, but there are lots of games left and I think we can still do it.
“They say we are close to relegation, but in terms of points we are closer to European football. The table is very balanced right now. Everyone can beat everyone. I think we need to go on a run of a few wins in a row and we can be back in the mix.”