Bondz 'Gala may have been away for most of December but he announced his return to the West Ham United fold in a big way by helping the reserves to a 0-0 Barclays Premier Reserve team south draw at league-leaders Aston Villa last week.
The 19-year-old was playing his first match for United since returning from a successful month-long loan spell at League One high-flyers MK Dons. Despite enjoying his time in Buckinghamshire - where he made three appearances - the central defender's thoughts are now firmly focussed on progress in his career at West Ham United, starting with the reserves' next match with Fulham at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday.
"Going there [MK Dons] was a great experience and it was good to get some regular games under my belt," 'Gala said. "I learnt a lot there about positioning and communication and playing in those games really helped my confidence. Playing in front of a crowd that big will help my development. I want to get used to playing in front of crowds of that sort of size and hopefully one day I can play at the Boleyn Ground."
'Gala came closer to realising that dream when he was named on the bench for the Premier League game against Stoke City in December. Although he did not get on that day, the Forest-Gate born defender enjoyed the experience and is planning to use it as a motivation for the remainder of the season.
"It was great being on the bench for the Stoke game. Warming up in front of the crowd was brilliant and I was itching to get on. Hopefully I can get on the bench again later this year," he said.
'Gala excelled as part of a three-man back line alongside James Tomkins and Jonathan Spector against Villa as Alex Dyer's side claimed their first away point of the season. The team have impressed at home thus far, winning all four matches, and they return to a home soil for the Fulham game. The Hammers will be looking to avenge the 4-1 defeat in west London in October.
"Hopefully we can beat Fulham and push on and get up the league and get back at them as we lost there. I think that against Villa we got a lot of pressure second half but we dug in, worked hard and did well. We try to keep clean sheets and we do our best for that every game. I think getting our first away point will help us build and move on to win at home and away."
Dyer's side could be boosted by the appearance of several senior players who were not involved in Sunday's 3-1 win over Fulham. The likes of Freddie Sears, Hayden Mullins and James Tomkins may all feature to give them some game time on the Boleyn Ground playing surface.
whufc.com will have full text coverage of the game along with all of the post-match action. Kick-off is at 7pm. Season ticket holders get in for free, adults are £3 and OAPs and under-16s £1.