Defender Jean-Clair Todibo is hoping to help claim a positive result at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday that he believes could spark a strong end to the season for both him and West Ham United.
The 25-year-old, who signed for the Club on an initial season-long loan from OGC Nice in August 2024, has established himself as a regular in the starting XI under Graham Potter in recent weeks, starting the last four Premier League games following an injury that kept him out of action for over a month.
Those four games have yielded seven points, with just two goals conceded, and having gradually built up his gametime, and completed almost the entirety of the 1-1 draw at Everton ahead of the March international window, Todibo believes there are plenty of good times ahead.
“I feel really good,” said the France international, who has so far featured 21 times for the Hammers in all competitions. “My injury dragged on for a while, but I’ve gradually built my fitness back up and now I feel really good and ready to play.
“I had to take it game-by-game, and the [Head] Coach managed me. I’ve been working as hard as I can, and I completed almost all of the Everton game, which was good. We’ve had the international break, which came at a good time for me, and now I’m ready to go.
“I just love playing football. It’s what I’ve done all my life, and what I think I’ll die doing, so just being out on the pitch and playing games is a great pleasure for me.
“I think the last little run has been good for the defence’s confidence, because we haven’t conceded many goals. It gives me great pleasure when we keep clean sheets, because that’s our job.”
While gradually building up important relationships with the likes of fellow central defenders Maximilian Kilman and Dinos Mavropanos, and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, Todibo has also enjoyed working with Head Coach Graham Potter and his staff so far this calendar year.
Over seven months since he joined up with the Irons, he is also feeling fully settled in his surroundings, and enjoying London life with his wife and children.
Todibo continued: “I think as time has gone on, we all understand better what we have to do as players, and the coach and his staff have helped with that. We all get on very well, and I think we all know each other well now.
“I feel really good here at West Ham, and in the UK. I don’t go out very much - I prefer to spend my time with my wife and my kids, and do things at home like playing on the PlayStation or PC - but I’m happy and settled.
“I think the guys trust me on the pitch, and for me the important thing is to just keep enjoying it, working hard and improving.”
With nine games of the Premier League season remaining, Todibo and his teammates are focused on securing a sprint finish, starting with the hotly-anticipated trip to Molineux.
As he gets set to line up opposite a number of familiar names, our No25 is focused on earning the full share of the spoils against the 17th-placed Wanderers - who sit one spot and eight points below West Ham - and climbing up the standings.
He added: “We know it’s going to be a tough game. I played with Nélson Semedo at Barcelona, I have played against Emmanuel Agbadou - who joined Wolves in January - and I know Rayan Aït-Nouri through mutual friends. They’re all top players, and they’re fighting towards the bottom of the table so they’re going to be determined.
“It’s never easy in the Premier League, but we have done quite well away from home this season, and we’ll go there with plenty of belief. I think we have a good chance to win, and that’s what we’ll all be looking to do, to really kickstart the run-up to the end of the season.”
