Viviane Asseyi calls for consistency after West Ham's uneven WSL start

Viviane Asseyi has identified consistency as the missing ingredient for West Ham after the club won two of its opening seven games. Speaking to the Guardian in an interview published on October 28, the forward said both mentality and small details were factors in the team's performances, while expressing confidence that results would improve.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtde6nHcx9A

The interview followed West Ham's 3-0 defeat at Brighton on Saturday. The Guardian reported that Brighton controlled possession, although the difference between the teams was smaller when measured by shots, efforts on target and touches inside the opposition penalty area. Asseyi described her frustration after the match and said a conversation with her mother helped her put the performance into perspective.

At 32, the West Ham vice-captain has responsibilities beyond her own contribution in attack. She described helping establish expectations within the squad and said players continued to approach training positively after defeats. Her account emphasised the willingness of teammates to support one another, even when results had been disappointing, alongside the need to become more reliable on the pitch.

Asseyi is in her fifth season at West Ham, having arrived from Bayern Munich in 2022. The Guardian put her appearance total at 117, compared with Kate Longhurst's club record of 130 in the Women's Super League era. Before moving to Germany and then England, she played for Rouen, Montpellier, Marseille and Bordeaux, building a career across three countries.

The France-born daughter of Gabonese parents also traced her football ambitions to watching France win the 1998 World Cup. Zinedine Zidane inspired her to ask for a ball and pursue the game. After playing in Normandy, she earned a place at Clairefontaine, where she became friends with goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who now also plays for West Ham, and future Portugal international Raphael Guerreiro.

Asseyi said messages from supporters had increased her awareness of the influence she could have as a Black female footballer. She identified Serena Williams as a childhood inspiration and discussed wanting to encourage young girls through her own career. Alongside her immediate focus on West Ham's results, she described representing that possibility for the next generation as an important responsibility.