Skinner urges struggling side to Hammer out more points

Rehanne Skinner has urged West Ham to finish the year with a flourish after a difficult start to the season. 

The Hammers sit level on four points with Women's Super League basement side Bristol City having lost six of their first six games. 

And Skinner, who took charge during the summer, is keen to see her side beat Everton on Sunday before heading to Leicester a week later in their last game before the mid-season break. 

Speaking ahead of the crucial clash with the Toffees, she said: "We want to try and get points. We've had some really positive performances and we want to turn that into an opportunity to get points on the board. 

"We feel like there's been a couple of games where we've given a couple of things away at times when we were actually performing better than the scoreline reflected. 

"This game is an important one for us to get points on the board. And with the majority of the squad available, it presents a really good opportunity to do so."

The Hammers lost 3-0 at Arsenal in their last outing before the international break. 

But Skinner, 44, has taken heart from what she has seen in training since that London derby defeat at Meadow Park. 

She added: "The team has worked really well during the break we've just had and our players that have been away have got a good amount of minutes and performed well for their countries. 

"We're approaching this game like we approach every game, which is to win. 

"We're really keen to try and get one over the line now, based on all of the effort that's been put in and the way we're playing.

"I feel like we should be a little bit further forward than we are at the moment. But at the same time, they're giving everything and working incredibly hard on and off the pitch. 

"You can see the frustration of the players with a couple of mistakes here and there that have cost us goals but that's a learning curve. Everyone's working really hard to deliver in those big moments consistently."