Mads Hermansen has opened up about the sting of last season’s relegation with Leicester and how that experience shaped his mindset after joining West Ham. He says the feeling of watching a career slide toward the drop is brutal and something he doesn’t want to face again.
After West Ham’s 4-0 win over Wolves — a result that put their survival hopes firmly in their own hands — Hermansen urged cautious optimism while praising the club for keeping spirits high. He described the months of anxiety as hard to work through but credited the dressing room with maintaining belief: ‘The fear of where we might go, it’s not easy to work in. But praise to everyone here at the club for keeping the spirits high and making us believe that we can turn it around.’
Hermansen stressed that togetherness has been vital as West Ham try to avoid a late scrap: the personalities and commitment of each squad member, he says, will be essential if the battle goes to the wire.
His own season has demanded resilience. Signed last summer as West Ham’s No. 1, he was dropped after conceding 11 goals across his first four Premier League appearances and replaced by Alphonse Areola. Hermansen did not feature again until an FA Cup tie at QPR in January and had to wait until February 7 at Burnley to return to Premier League action.
Since being reinstated he has been in strong form — making more saves than any other Premier League goalkeeper over that period and keeping four clean sheets in eight matches. Looking back, he admits his early performances fell short of expectations but says he was determined to prove he deserved the move and the club’s faith. ‘I’m just happy I got another chance to show what I can do,’ he said.
Hermansen also described how he used his time out of the team positively, working on his game and his mentality. He calls it a period that tested his discipline and work ethic and taught him what he’s capable of when things get difficult. He has focused on separating emotion from performance, asking himself how to take the emotional weight away from the football side and simply do his job — a lesson he says has helped him play better.
While encouraged by recent results and the team’s renewed confidence, Hermansen insists the job is unfinished. ‘We believe a lot in ourselves,’ he said. ‘It’s going to get tough but we believe we have a lot to give.’