Robert Green has admitted he is
frustrated that the international break has stalled West Ham's
attempts to escape relegation.
Green, who made his England debut under Sven Goran Eriksson but has
yet to feature for Steve McClaren, says the players are all keeping
themselves fit, but feels the absence of the club's international
players is damaging preparations for Saturday's game against
Middlesbrough.
"It has put paid to preparations for the Middlesbrough game in some
respects, but that happens in football," he said.
"At the moment, we are just training and working hard. It is a
strange situation where we have still got 15 or 16 players here,
but we cannot really do too much with Middlesbrough in mind without
the others, so we are training to keep fit and to keep on top of
things.
"But I think we would all much rather be playing games at the
moment." West Ham won 2-1 against Blackburn in their last match,
handing them their first league victory since Alan Curbishley's
opening game against Manchester United in mid-December.
That win meant The Hammers are now eight points adrift of safety,
and Green is keen to build some momentum.
"When you are in good form, you want the games to come quickly and
you want to keep the run going," he told the club's official
website.
"Hopefully we will get a run together this Saturday - and we need
to, so it gives us a chance of survival."