West Ham are seeking to reach their first European final for 24 years as they take on Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
And Hammers manager David Moyes has called on his big players to "stand up" and be counted as they prepare for the first leg at the London Stadium on Thursday.
Moyes's side took a step closer to Premier League survival on Sunday when they beat Manchester United to move seven points above the drop zone.
And, as the Scottish manager's thoughts turned from the relegation fight to the chance of European glory, he said: "I think we have big players who have played in big games and big competitions. This is as close to a big occasion as we can get at the moment and it is where you hope the big players stand up and showcase themselves.
"And, if we play as we have over the last couple of games, then we give ourselves every chance."
West Ham made it to the semi-finals of the Europa League last season, losing 3-1 on aggregate to Eintracht Frankfurt and Moyes said he is not underestimating the difficulty of reaching a first European final since they won the Intertoto Cup in 1999.
"We have had two really successful years over the past seasons," said Moyes. "This year has been a bit disappointing [in the league] but in this competition, we have been excellent.
"It is incredibly difficult to win any of the major trophies with the standard of the football teams you have to beat.
"What we did in Europe and the standards of the team we had to beat [Gent] to reach the semi-finals was a good achievement.
West Ham 1 Man United 0: Player ratings
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WEST HAM PLAYER RATINGS: Lukasz Fabianski – 7. Commanded his area well, rushing out to deny Man United’s forwards on several occasions. A very tidy display. EPA -
Thilo Kehrer – 7. Gave away one or two cheap fouls, but the Germany international was defensively solid in the absence of Vladimir Coufal at right-back. PA -
Nayef Aguerd – 8. West Ham’s most impressive defender on the night, stepping out of the backline intelligently at times to disrupt United attacks. A promising performance from the Moroccan. AP -
Angelo Ogbonna – 7. A solid if unspectacular outing, with the centre-back maintaining good positional discipline throughout. He was also vital in the air as the visitors whipped in several menacing crosses late on. AFP -
Aaron Cresswell – 7. Provided great energy down the left channel, although too often his smart runs forward were ignored by teammates. Cresswell’s shepherding of Antony was also impressive, with the Brazilian’s only real joy coming from central positions. Reuters -
Tomas Soucek – 8. Looked a real threat in the final third, coming close to scoring with a half-volley in the second half. Having netted against Crystal Palace last time out, the Czech midfielder looks to have rediscovered his best form. AFP -
Declan Rice – 9. Another sublime display from the captain, whose positional awareness and plugging of holes defensively was decisive. He also had one or two moments of brilliance in going forward, showcasing his close control and ability to pick a pass. PA -
Jarrod Bowen – 7. A willing runner for the Hammers, working hard out of possession, all while trying to stretch the play with sprints in behind the away side’s defence. AFP -
Lucas Paqueta – 7. Improved as the game wore on, becoming West Ham’s creative hub in the second half. While his end product was slightly subpar, his movement caused Man United all sorts of problems throughout. AFP -
Said Benrahma – 7. Scorer of the game’s only goal, with his speculative effort from range forcing a dreadful error out of David de Gea. While he was quiet for large spells, there were some moments of real quality whenever the forward got to the by-line. AFP -
Michail Antonio – 8. The big man up front was a real handful, driving his side forward repeatedly with determined and powerful ball carries. His biggest contribution was winning the ball back for Benrahma’s opener – a richly deserved reward for his consistent efforts out of possession. Getty -
SUBS: Pablo Fornals (Benrahma 87’) – N/A. Largely tasked with tracking Aaron Wan-Bissaka defensively as Man United pushed for an equaliser. AFP -
Ben Johnson (Antonio 90’+5) – N/A. Slotted into the West Ham backline for the final few moments of added time. Getty -
Flynn Downes (Paqueta 90’+5) – N/A. The young midfielder replaced Paqueta in added time. PA -
Emerson Palmieri (Cresswell 90’+8) – N/A. Came on for the final few seconds. Getty -
MANCHETSER UNITED PLAYER RATINGS: David de Gea – 2. A terrible start to his 540th United match. Passed to Rice at the start, then let in a weak Benrahma shot after 27 minutes – his worst mistake of the season. Antonio’s arm across him saw a second West Ham goal ruled out. Beaten by a superb Soucek header on 73 but it was offside. PA -
Aaron Wan Bissaka – 5. Ran from right-back to help set up a 10th minute chance. Got into attacking areas and looked strong going forward. Booked. Nasty clash of heads with Soucek. AP -
Victor Lindelof – 5. Good defending to stop a cross on 58 and Antonio was a handful for him. West Ham appealed for a penalty when the ball hit his arm. AP -
Luke Shaw – 5. Still comfortable in the centre, except when De Gea’s ball was supposed to go to him before the goal. Stopped Paqueta in an 85th minute attack. AFP -
Tyrell Malacia – 5. Scraped his studs down Cresswell’s achilles and yellow carded for it. United’s defence were bullied by the aggressive, effective, Hammers. AP -
Casemiro – 5. Not at the level he reached before his red cards and outshone by Rice as David Moyes recorded his first league win against his former club. Needs to find his mojo in the remaining four league games. AFP -
Christian Eriksen – 5. The 23rd time he’d started with Casemiro and Fernandes – United hadn’t lost any of them. Until Sunday. Curled a shot wide on 15. Like many, he can’t find his range. PA -
Bruno Fernandes – 5. Smartly positioned to get a shot off past the post on six minutes. Shooting way off target, as was the energy in the side he captains. Rightly frustrated when Martial didn’t connect enough with his late corner. EPA -
Antony – 6. Had to hit the target after 10, but United don’t score goals away from home so that was unlikely to happen. Hit the outside of the post after a promising attack on 32. AP -
Wout Weghorst – 4. More withdrawn and defended well after four minutes to atone for a De Gea error. Then, almost nothing until he tested Fabianski with a 55th minute shot on target. First player to come off. AP -
Marcus Rashford – 6. Ran from his own half and created a chance which he shot over after two minutes. Caught the outside of the post on 17. Did well to get a shot on target on 76. Without his goals, and they’re drying up, the team sink. Getty -
SUBS: Anthony Martial (Weghorst 56’) – 5. Gave the ball away a few times, then charged through the West Ham defence in a wonderful move for a shot on 90 minutes. Should have got contact on the resulting corner. PA -
Jadon Sancho (Antony 74’) – N/A. Nothing. EPA -
Marcel Sabitzer (Eriksen 74’) – N/A. Nothing. EPA -
Diogo Dalot (Wan Bissaka 87’) – N/A. Came on and passed the ball straight to Rice to set up a West Ham attack. PA -
Fred (Malacia 87’) – N/A. Getty
"You can't take European football for granted, with so many teams trying to be in this position."
Moyes looks likely to be without first-choice centre-back Kurt Zouma for the first leg after the French defender injured his ankle in last month's defeat to Crystal Palace. The player resumed training with the squad on Wednesday but will probably not be ready to feature against Alkmaar.
"There is a good chance tomorrow is too soon but we will see how he is," said Moyes on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Hammers' forward Jarrod Bowen, whose partner Dani's father is former EastEnders soap actor Danny Dyer, says he knows exactly what winning a European trophy would mean to the club's supporters.
Dyer senior is a West Ham fan and Bowen said he has been left in no doubt about the importance of Thursday’s game.
“It’s massive," said Bowen. “The missus’ old man is obviously on me every week. But for everyone, the whole club, it’s not been a great season but staying in the Premier League is the main aim and bringing the trophy home for the fans would be a good end to a bad season.”
