AFTER a bout of food poisoning laid him low, Matty Etherington is
now back to full-fitness and ready to get stuck back into
Premiership action against Aston Villa on Monday.
Matty was feeling the effects of illness during the Hammers last game against Bolton, but the 24-year-old winger is hoping to get back to his best and help the team get back to winning ways against Villa.
He said: "The effects of food poisoning leaves your body
weak and takes a bit out of you, but I'm okay now.
"You always need to be at your best in the Premiership, so
I'm glad it's all out of the way now and that I'm back
up to full speed for the Villa match."
The international break came at a good time for Matty, affording him a chance to regain full fitness. But after two weeks of training he admits the squad are looking forward to competitive action again.
He added: "We've all been looking forward this week to
getting back out there.
"We made a good start to the season. It would have been great
to get a couple of more points on the board when you look at
how well we have played. But that is the standards we set ourselves
now, you always want to do better and that's how it should be.
The positives of those three games are that we played solidly and
were competitive in all of them.
"It was a pity we've had the two-week break in a way because it's stopped the momentum, but that's how it goes and we've got to make sure now that we keep the good performances going.
"Aston Villa will be a tough game, they'll be looking to come and get something for sure, but we're at home and are more than capable of getting a win against them.
"There's a lot of confidence running through the team, we've got a good squad here. Villa have established themselves as a side in the Premiership, but maybe are not always in the top half of the league. So getting a result against teams like that, especially at this early stage of the season, will stand us in good stead.
"Villa, and then Fulham away, are games we've got to look at and say, without being over-confident, that we can win. They're two games we need to get points from and I'm sure we will."