West Ham United winger Stewart Downing is confident that his side can maintain their excellent run of form in the Premier League over the busy festive period.
The Hammers are unbeaten in their last five games, winning four of those matches, including their 2-0 victory over Leicester City at Upton Park courtesy of strikes from Andy Carroll and England international.
Downing is optimistic that Sam Allardyce's men will be able to continue their good displays, even when they lose key players such as Diafra Sakho, Cheikhou Kouyate and Alex Song to the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
He told the club's official website: "Everyone will be talking about us and asking can we keep it up. For us, the manager will keep on stressing that we'll take each game as it comes.
"We weren't expected to be in fourth, so there's no pressure on us really. We can just keep going but I think the European places is a realistic target with the way we've been playing. January is a big month for us. We could lose a few of the boys to the Africa Cup of Nations.
"We'll need to keep everyone fit and the lads who come in will have to produce the form of the lads who have been playing. The strength-in-depth is really good and we've got quality for quality to swap, so I'm confident we can stick around those places."
Allardyce's side play Chelsea in the Premier League match on Boxing Day.
Simon Sinclair
