MATTY Etherington pledged his future to the Hammers cause when
he signed a new-four year deal with the Club last week. The
23-year-old, who arrived at Upton Park from Tottenham in August
2003, has had a successful first two seasons at the Boleyn Ground,
winning promotion and a Hammer of the Year award.
Now the winger is setting his sights on conquering the Premiership
and helping to establish West Ham United as a force in the
top-flight once more.
"I am delighted to have signed a new contract with the
club," enthused Matt. "Gaining promotion with West Ham
United last season was unbelievable and I wanted to pledge my
long-term future to the club.
"I feel I have got a lot to prove to people in the Premiership. I've got experience there with Tottenham, and although I think I did well during my time there, I know there is more to come from me.
"I was doing well at the time but now I am ten times the
player I was then and I have got no doubts in my mind that I can
perform at the highest level.
"Perhaps I didn't produce on a consistent enough basis
last time, but I didn't get a regular run in the Spurs side and
it was difficult to build any momentum. "That is behind me now
though and I just want to concentrate on my career with West Ham
United and prove to everyone that I can play at the top
level."
Having left the top-flight to join West Ham, Matty was determined
to fire the Club back to promotion. But now his Premier League
experience could be vital to Alan Pardew's squad as they look
to take on England's elite.
"The Premiership is where everyone wants to be," he
admitted, "where you can pit your wits against the very best.
"We're a young, enthusiastic team, but you need experience
in your squad when your returning to the Premier League.
"That's why it's good that Teddy Sheringham and
Christian Dailly have signed new contracts with the Club, because
their input, both on the pitch and in the dressing room, will be
vital.
"We have got the makings of a very good team. We are very fit
and quick and have lots of good technical players. "All the
lads get on really well together, there's a great spirit
amongst the squad, and that is half the reason we did so well last
year.
"We took a lot of stick, some justified and a lot of it harsh,
but we all stuck together and got what we wanted. "There are
teams and players that have played in the Championship and then
gone up to the Premiership and proved they can handle that level.
"Tim Cahill moved from Millwall to Everton and is now one of
the best midfielders in the Premiership. "It's going to be
tough and that's why the training over pre-season is going to
be so intense.
"This tour has been a good opportunity to get down to some
work, get some match practice in and also to help the squad bond,
particularly with the new lads that have come in.
"It's been good to get away, and now we're just
looking forward to getting down to the final game and then flying
home to get back to work in England."
Matt is desperate to do well back in the top-flight, and has
complete faith in the work Alan Pardew and his staff are doing to
prepare the Hammers for the Premier League.
Indeed, he credits the influence of Pards in reigniting his career.
But now that Premier League football is about to return to Upton
Park there's one fixture in particular that Matt will be
looking out for.
"There is still more to come from me," he insisted.
"I am only 23 and have yet to reach my peak. That can only be
good for West Ham. "The manager has been brilliant to me and I
have got on with him from day one. All the lads are fully behind
him and I am the same.
"He's supported me and given me the opportunity to perform
well for this Club out on the pitch. "He did magnificently
well to lead the team to promotion and I think the set-up he has
put in place over the summer is excellent. Now we are looking in
good shape to take on the top-flight.
"I have looked out for the Spurs game on the fixture list and
although a lot of people have now left the club from when I was
there, it will still be nice to put one over them! "I am still
very close with Simon Davies, who has just moved to Everton, so
that game is one for the diary as well. I have known him since I
was 11 so whenever we get games up there, I will probably stay with
him.
"We've got a good start to the season, but we'll need
to get some points on the board quickly and that means a very
positive start. "When we played the Premiership teams last
year in the cup, we always enjoyed playing against them because it
suits our tempo.
"I think everyone will relish playing against the top teams.
If we don't play to our best we will quickly get found out, but
all the lads are up for it, and one thing's for sure,
they'll give it 110 per cent every game."
Matt is a former England Under-21 international and from a young
age was touted as a future solution to England's left-sided
problem. Now that he's back among the big boys, the former
Peterborough United trainee is not discounting a call from Sven
Goran Eriksson.
"There are players like Stewart Downing and Kieran Richardson
who have got into the England squad and are doing really well at
the moment," he said.
"But if I play ten good games, you never know what could
happen . "Playing for England is something I have always
thought about, but the most important thing for me is doing well
for West Ham United. If I can do that then hopefully everything
else will fall into place."