BURNLEY face a West Ham side reeling from successive 4-1 defeats this weekend, but Stephen Ward is urging the Clarets to be wary of the wounded animal.

The Hammers have been plunged back into relegation trouble after heavy defeats at Liverpool and Swansea. But David Moyes' side will be desperate to put things right when they return to the London Stadium to face Burnley on Saturday.

Ward believes those heavy defeats could spur the hosts on this weekend and insists the Clarets will have to be at the top of their game to make it back-to-back wins after last weekend's victory over Everton.

“It probably makes it more difficult, they’re going to want to put on a performance, especially in front of their own fans, and they’ll want to get back to winning ways," the Republic of Ireland international said of those recent results.

“They’re going to be up for it, they’ve had a couple of bad results but they’re still fighting for their lives.

“They will look at Burnley at home and think it’s one they want to win and will push hard on so we’ll have to be ready for that.

“They’ve got some really good players who can hurt you so we’ll have to put on a performance, because we know we’ll need to do that."

Burnley themselves got back to winning ways last weekend, ending a 12 game winless run in all competitions with success against the Toffees.

That win was inspired by the second half strike pairing of Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood, who were both on the scoresheet, and Ward believes the return to fitness of record signing Wood can help the Clarets over the final nine games of the season.

“It’s vital to have everyone fit, there’s a lot of competition in the squad now. Woody has come on at the weekend and got his goal, Barnesy has been fantastic up front, Vokesy and Nahki Wells are knocking on the door," the left-back said.

“Since I’ve been at Burnley it’s by far the strongest squad and the most competition there's been, that’s been healthy all season, players have been out with injuries and suspension and you see players filling in, doing their job, because everyone works so hard, we know each job inside out.

“It’s been a real factor this season. To have Woody back for the last few games hopefully he can nick a few goals, Barnesy is going well, with all the competition it gives us a great chance to kick on.

“The strikers are normally the ones that win you the games so it’s nice to have them all back fit."