Ljungberg eyeing fourth place for Hammers

Freddie Ljungberg insists West Ham can still challenge for fourth place in the Premier League following Sunday's promising 1-1 draw at Manchester City.

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Alan Curbishley's side deserved more than a point after Darius Vassell grabbed a controversial equaliser to cancel out Carlton Cole's early overhead kick.

A draw left the Hammers in 10th place, seven points behind City and nine adrift of fourth-placed Everton, but with a game in hand over most of the clubs above them.

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And with summer signings Craig Bellamy, Scott Parker, Kieron Dyer and Nolberto Solano still to come back from injury, Ljungberg believes they are ready to hit top gear in the second half of the season and target a Champions League spot.

"I looked at the Premier League table before the weekend, and we were only seven points off fourth place with a game in hand over every club above us apart from Liverpool, and we play them in our next home game," said Ljungberg.

"I felt we were capable of closing the gap and getting into the fight for fourth place, and I still think that is possible even though it has opened up to nine points now.

"A couple of wins can really get you moving in the right direction, and it is very tight behind the top three.

"With so many injured players preparing to come back in the second half of the season, we have to target a place in Europe. To do that we will have to catch at least one of the clubs who were in joint fourth on Saturday morning.

"So if you close the gap on one of them, why not all of them? My time in football has taught me that you have to set your sights high if you are going to achieve anything worthwhile."

Sunday's draw at Eastlands came five days after City beat West Ham in an FA Cup third round replay on the same ground.

The Hammers could have won on both occasions were it not for some crucial saves from City goalkeeper Joe Hart, and Ljungberg believes they should take heart from their performances against Sven Goran Eriksson's side.

The former Arsenal midfielder added: "Manchester City were one of those clubs in joint fourth, and we can take encouragement from the fact we outplayed them twice in a week at their ground, even if the results didn't go our way.

"At the moment we feel as though we dropped two points at City because we were so obviously the better team for most of the match. We created a lot of chances and we were very disappointed not to finish them off.

"But when you see how good their home record is, we will probably look back on it eventually as a good point to have come away with. Because we lost to City in the FA Cup we have a week off - which is something no-one wanted - but we have to make sure we make the most of it by preparing well for Liverpool."

Hart's performances this season have justified Eriksson's decision to make him first-choice keeper ahead of Kasper Schmeichel and Andreas Isaksson, and also marked him out as a future England international.

Ljungberg believes both Hart and his West Ham team-mate Robert Green should both be on new coach Fabio Capello's radar.

"People say they are two of the best young goalkeepers in England, and I wouldn't argue with that," he said."Greeny is my team-mate so I've seen a lot of him, and I definitely think he is international class.

"I don't like comparing players, but Hart was very good against us in both games. He probably kept them in the Cup and then earned them a point in the League game.

"England have had a few problems with their goalkeepers over the past couple of years, but there are some excellent players coming through now."

Midfielder Ljungberg, meanwhile, sees no reason why the Hammers should not aim even higher.

The 30-year-old former Arsenal man said: "I looked at the Premier League table before the weekend, and we were only seven points off fourth place with a game in hand over every club above us apart from Liverpool, and we play them in our next home game.

"I felt we were capable of closing the gap and getting into the fight for fourth place, and I still think that is possible even though it has opened up to nine points now.

"A couple of wins can really get you moving in the right direction, and it is very tight behind the top three.

"With so many injured players preparing to come back in the second half of the season, we have to target a place in Europe. To do that we will have to catch at least one of the clubs who were in joint fourth on Saturday morning.

"So if you close the gap on one of them, why not all of them? My time in football has taught me that you have to set your sights high if you are going to achieve anything worthwhile."