'It is mind blowing'

Benni McCarthy has been with West Ham United for less than a week but he is already feeling perfectly at home in east London.

The South Africa striker swapped the relatively quiet life of Blackburn Rovers for the hustle and bustle of West Ham on transfer deadline day, joining the Hammers on a two-and-a-half year contract.

The 32-year-old has been working hard in training, giving goalkeeper Robert Green a thorough workout at Chadwell Heath, and may well make his debut against Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday. He is one of three new strikers, with Ilan and Mido, the club's new No9 and No11 respectively, also added to Gianfranco Zola's squad.

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"It is very exciting to be here," said McCarthy. "It is mind-blowing to be part of everything that is happening at West Ham, and how this part of London is evolving.

"It will all be happening in and around this club and the new owners have come in and put the club back on track to go places. I want to be on this train, I want to be here now and grow with this club. I have come in at the right time.

"Maybe for results so far, you would like to be somewhere different or where we deserve to be, but all that is going to change. There are just too many good things at this club. Relegation doesn't exist for me. We have got way more in our squad to be at the wrong end of the table."

While McCarthy is excited about the prospect of leading West Ham's charge up the Barclays Premier League table, the experienced forward is also looking forward to making his home in the nation's capital.

"It will be a different experience. You can't compare Blackburn to London. It is a small town and the surroundings are really nice and cosy and comfortable, but London is the big city. It is one of the best cities in the world. It has got so many great things that you can do if you have family and that.

"You can do so many tours and see so many fascinating things around London and learn about all of the different cultures that live here. The football scene is fantastic because we have got rivals in Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. There will be a lot of derby games and that is the kind of games I want to play in. I look forward to playing for West Ham in big matches.

"Coming to London has been very appealing. There is a big South African community in London, loads of South African shops. There is nothing of that kind up north so I will be very settled."