When West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski is informed he’s the second oldest participant to have appeared within the Premier League this season, the 38-year-old excitedly interrupts the query earlier than it may be completed.

“Who’s the oldest then?! Who’s older than me?” he laughs, in an unique interview with Sky Sports.

But giving him the reply instantly appears too straightforward, so a guessing sport ensues.

“Let me think,” he says. Fabianski is then given his first clue – it’s an outfielder.

“Is it (James) Milner?” he responds. An excellent guess from Fabianski, however the Liverpool midfielder is eight months youthful than him, so the quizzing continues.

Told he’s a Brazilian, Fabianski stays stumped. “Oh, I don’t know,” he says.

Then informed he performs for Chelsea, Fabianski, with none hesitation, solutions appropriately: “Ah, Thiago Silva!”

The 38-year-old centre-back is sort of seven months older than Fabianski, who turned 38 simply two weeks in the past.

With the quiz now over, it’s time to end the unique query: how necessary will Fabianski’s know-how be in West Ham’s relegation battle?

“Having this huge experience in English football,” he says, “especially in the Premier League, and being in tricky moments as well with West Ham and with Swansea (he was relegated with them in 2018), I think this experience actually helps me to deal with the present situation in a good way.

“When we’ve got some form of dialog in regards to the state of affairs, or once I hear some conversations of gamers then I’ll attempt to step in just a little bit and simply share my expertise.”

Saturday’s 4-3 defeat at Crystal Palace adopted by Monday evening’s 2-2 draw between fellow strugglers Leicester and Everton has left West Ham simply 4 factors above the drop zone with 5 video games remaining.

The Hammers, who’re on 34 factors, want only one extra level to achieve the common variety of factors (35) required to remain up within the final 10 Premier League seasons, whereas within the final six seasons no group has been relegated from the Premier League with 36 factors.

No marvel Fabianski stays calm about their place.

“We always knew that it’s going to take more than what we are on at the moment,” he says. “We’re never actually thinking that we are safe, we know that we need to get more points, but everything is still in our hands.

“We are kind of answerable for the state of affairs, so it is as much as us. We do not have to essentially take a look at different groups so I feel that is clearly nice; that is the perfect place to be when it comes to the way you need to management the state of affairs and it’ll be as much as us.”

Opta’s Season Predictor shares Fabianski’s optimism – it gives West Ham just a 0.8 per cent chance of being relegated. So are the Hammers too good to go down?

“I think maybe at one point we caught ourselves as well in thinking like that,” Fabianski admits. “We know that we have a really good group of players, but you have to show it every single game.

“I feel perhaps typically we sort of waited just a little bit too lengthy with realising.

“I think you can clearly see a change in terms of performances and the results after the last international break.

“The final outcome in opposition to Palace wasn’t the perfect one and the efficiency perhaps was just a little bit off. But earlier than that each single sport after the worldwide break was actually good. I feel that hopefully we’ll have the ability to proceed like that till the tip of the season.”

Asked if he is confident they will beat the drop, he replies: “Yeah, for positive. We have to consider, we must be assured.”

That level of positivity is going to be needed for West Ham’s next three league matches, which are all against top-half sides, starting with a daunting trip to leaders Manchester City on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports.

It is not the game in hand the Irons would have wanted over their relegation rivals, with West Ham visiting a City side who are 18 games unbeaten and have scored 133 goals in all competitions – the most in Europe’s major leagues.

Fifty of those have been scored by Erling Haaland, who opened his City goal account against West Ham on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. But his first two goals in English football were not scored against Fabianski after he came off injured in the 29th minute.

Asked whether it was disappointing his day ended early against Haaland, Fabianski jokes: “I do not know!”

“No, but it’s a huge challenge obviously. The way he came into this league and then he showed his personality on the pitch and with the numbers as well that he has provided for his team, it’s been incredible.

“He’s particular. He’s obtained virtually all the things that you’d need in a striker. Obviously he is scoring quite a lot of objectives, however he is working arduous for the group as properly.

“He’s making great runs, he’s good on the ball, he’s powerful, he can shoot, he can head and he takes penalties.

“I feel the one factor he would not do is take free-kicks! But aside from that, he virtually does all the things on the market on the pitch.”

Fabianski knows a thing or two about a top striker having played with Robert Lewandowski for Poland. So how does the Barcelona forward compare with Haaland?

“I think they are two different type of strikers,” he says. “Lewy has this smell for the goal inside the box. He’s always in the right place at the right time.

“I feel Haaland is a bit completely different when it comes to his bodily presence, however they’re two prime strikers.

“They have this thing about themselves that they know they are good. They don’t look like they ever question themselves in front of goal and when there’s an opportunity to score a goal, the percentage of the goal ratio is always crazy high – that’s what makes good strikers special.”

Haaland’s double in opposition to West Ham in August proved to be the onset of a tough season domestically for David Moyes’ aspect.

Having spent £179m on 9 signings in the summertime after back-to-back top-seven Premier League finishes, the Hammers weren’t anticipated to be on this precarious place.

“This season has been a bit of a struggle,” Fabianski admits. “We made a lot of changes in the summer. We brought in a lot of players from different leagues, so for them it’s a new experience playing in the Premier League and it always takes time.

“I hope this type of season will probably be like a transitional season for the group and with this expertise we’ll have the ability to first end this season in a robust method, to remain up after which with this expertise, we’ll have the ability to begin the subsequent one properly.”

There remains real hope that this season can still be a success, with West Ham eyeing Europa Conference League glory for a first major trophy in 43 years, while also avoiding relegation.

“That could be superb,” Fabianski says. “If that occurs, that will in all probability be among the best seasons within the historical past of this soccer membership as a result of one, we would be a Premier League membership once more, and on the identical time we would win a trophy for the primary time since 1980.

“Winning a trophy in Europe would be crazy, and then that gives you another year in Europe as well. You could call it glory years in a way, so that would be pretty special, that’s for sure.”

But whether or not Fabianski would have the prospect to play in a possible Europa Conference League last stays uncertain, with Alphonse Areola thought of first-choice within the competitors, whereas the Pole is Moyes’ primary within the Premier League.

“It’s funny because it has never been explained to me that it’s going to be like that,” Fabianski says. “It started happening like that last season and it’s just carried on.

“I feel we each perceive the state of affairs very well, so we’re simply being very supportive in the direction of one another.

“We have a great relationship. At the same time we compete with each other, but I think it’s really in a good way, in a healthy way and it really helps us as well to create this like bond of being very respectful towards each other, but very likeable as well.”

With Fabianski forward of Areola within the Premier League pecking order, the previous Arsenal and Swansea goalkeeper is ready for a landmark look on the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

When it’s put to him that it will likely be his four-hundredth English membership profession look, Fabianski is genuinely shocked.

“Oh! Okay, I didn’t know that!” he says.

Asked for his response, he beams: “Yeah, that’s cool!” Such is his shock, he’s then misplaced for phrases. “Errrr,” he stumbles smiling, “yeah that’s cool! I don’t know what else to say?!”

When it’s steered that it exhibits his excellent longevity on the prime of the sport, he jokingly replies: “Yeah, you’re just basically saying I’m old!”

Well, in spite of everything, he’s the second-oldest participant within the Premier League this season.

Watch Man City vs West Ham reside on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event on Wednesday from 7pm; kick-off 8pm.