It was a day of mixed emotions for young midfielder Josh Payne on Saturday as he came on to make his home debut against Liverpool.
By the time he entered the field in the 80th minute, the Reds were already 2-0 up and Payne could do nothing as they added a third in the dying minutes. Despite the scoreline not finishing in the Hammers' favour on the day, the feeling of getting out in front of the West Ham United faithful is certainly not something Payne will forget in a hurry.
"The last time I played here was in the youth cup and a couple of reserve games. They were nice, but they don't compare with being out there on Saturday," Payne said.
"It's always hard to come on in games like that, especially against Liverpool. When you're 2-0 down and you come on in it's always hard to get the boys going again."
Gianfranco Zola had handed Payne his first-team debut at Blackburn Rovers at the end of March and he chose to give the 18-year-old his second taste of first-team action at the Boleyn Ground.
Now the former reserve-team captain, who has spent much of the season on loan at Cheltenham Town, is eager to get more minutes on the pitch in the last two games of the season in a bid to help the Hammers' push for UEFA Europa League football next season.
"Everyone works hard to get that spot out there. You work hard and you've got to keep going.
"You've got to work hard in training and show what the manager can do and see if he will might chuck you on."
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