West Ham United captain Declan Rice has called Vladimir Coufal a "warrior" after the defender shared an "emotional" post about his son.

What's the latest on Vladimir Coufal and West Ham?

With the Premier League put on pause for a while as the international break takes place, the two Irons have been away representing their countries.

Indeed, while Rice got his name on the scoresheet as England beat Italy 2-1 in Naples, Coufal started as Czechia beat Poland 3-1 in their first qualifying match for Euro 2024.

Ahead of the game, the right-back walked onto the pitch with his young son, and it seems as though that was an extremely moving moment for the £35,000-per-week star.

Indeed, he took to Instagram after the game to explain: "I played a lot of games, reached a lot of victories, suffered many losses, but this was absolutely the most emotional experience in my career so far. Thank you, my son. I love you. Hopefully, you will lead your son on the pitch as well once."

West Ham defender Vladimir Coufal walks on pitch with son for Czechia vs Poland

Will West Ham get relegated?

After sharing the message, Rice was quick to offer his support online as he responded with the word "warrior" directly below Coufal's Instagram post.

The 30-year-old right-back has been in and out of the east London team this season but has still managed to start 16 league games and has made a total of 26 appearances in all competitions.

It will be nice for West Ham fans to see this interaction as they need their team fully unified as we enter the final stages of the season with the club facing the threat of relegation.

Indeed, the Hammers sit inside the bottom three, occupying 18th place with just 12 games to save themselves. Fortunately, they have played fewer games than the teams around them but still remain one point from safety.

Worryingly, there have been reports in the media (via The Guardian) that some players are unhappy with the tactical approach of David Moyes – noting a frustration at his cautious playing style – but while he remains in charge, they will just have to accept it and work together to avoid the drop.

And so, as mentioned before, Rice's show of support on Coufal's post is a nice reminder that behind the scenes, there is still a strong sense of unity between the players. They'll certainly need that in the coming months.