John Pantsil has spoken of his happiness in returning to the fold at West Ham United after his experience with semi-finalists Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The 26-year-old right-back, capped 39 times, played every minute of his country's five games at the finals and his big-game experience could prove invaluable if selected against Chelsea this Saturday. While Pantsil was giving his all for the host nation his thoughts were never too far away from the Boleyn Ground. "I am so happy to be back with my group and the team at West Ham. When I was playing at the Cup of Nations, people were shouting the name of West Ham at me and I was so happy and proud to hear my club's name mentioned in Ghana."
While naturally focused on the task at hand, Pantsil tuned in to as many games as he could on TV - notably the 1-0 defeat at Manchester City in the FA Cup third-round replay and the famous home success by the same scoreline against Liverpool at the end of January. The latter win came as Pantsil was preparing for a memorable 2-1 quarter-final victory against Nigeria. "I was watching every game that was happening, especially when we played the FA Cup against Man City. At the end I felt so bad about that and after we won against Liverpool I was so happy."
Since returning Pantsil found himself back on the bench for the first time in the 1-0 win at Fulham last Saturday and was overawed to get such a rapturous response from the travelling fans when he ran out to warm up including a special song in his honour. "It was so amazing to see the fans last Saturday and I am very happy to come back to the club. The song was amazing, it just showed me that I am back with the team and I must be ready for any chance that comes my way."
The defender, known to his team-mates as Johnny P, is a popular figure at the training ground for his enthusiastic approach. That was very much in evidence as he played the full 90 minutes for the reserves in a 3-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday. Afterwards, manager Kevin Keen described the international as a "super player" and Pantsil is hopeful of being involved against Chelsea - especially as he wants to help the club finish as high as possible. "I can't wait to play in Europe with West Ham. I believe that this year we will make it," he added.