West Ham United defender James Tomkins is back from a successful loan spell with Coca-Cola Championship side Derby County and aiming to force his way into Gianfranco Zola's team.
The England Under-20 international spent five weeks at Pride Park, impressing his Rams team-mates and supporters alike with his composed, committed displays at the heart of the club's back-four. Tomkins, a graduate of West Ham United's Academy, made eight appearances for the Midlands side, helping Derby reach the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.
While Derby wanted to keep the youngster for a further month, Zola has chosen to bring Tomkins back to the Boleyn Ground with a view to including him in his first team squad in the coming weeks. Tomkins himself, who made six encouraging Premier League appearances for United at the tail-end of last season, believes he has learned a lot from his five weeks away from east London and is now aiming to regain his place in the Hammers side.
"From a personal point of view, it was good experience for me and a good education. Results didn't go our way as much as I would have liked while I was there (at Derby) - it was a bit of a sticky situation for them, but I thought I did okay. I felt I learned more and more with the matches I played, got games under my belt and played a part in every one. I got to play with a lot of different other centre-halves which was all good for my experience.
"When I first got there, I had to get to know the players and the place itself, then played very soon after - everyone made me feel welcome, the players and all the staff at Derby were great, but I have been at West Ham since I was eight, so it was all very different for me. There was a different environment and moving up north to be able to play there for that time, but it did me good."
While he enjoyed his time at Pride Park, Tomkins admitted he is glad to be back at Chadwell Heath. The teenager is relishing the challenge of fighting for the privilege of playing first-team football again after getting a taste of it yet again during his time with Derby. However, he knows that he faces a tough task to force his way into Zola's starting lineup.
"I am glad to be back - the manager wanted me back. I want to try and impress him. My aim is to get back in the team - there is a lot of competition for places. The team is playing well and doing well, so I know I have to fight for my place, but I am going to be working hard to push on now here. The boys here have welcomed me back, I haven't seen them for a month, so it was good to see them all.
"West Ham tried to watch me as much as they could while I was there, so hopefully the manager would have been pleased with what I did. Derby wanted me for another month but West Ham asked for me to come back. I enjoyed the experience, playing lots of games in what is a competitive league, and I feel fresh and ready to go again."