Hello everyone,
This is my first column as a West Ham United player. The staff, players and fans have all helped me to settle in and I have really enjoyed my time at the club so far. Of course, it is only early into the season, yet I have already seen many reasons to be excited about it.
One of these positives is the signing of Alex Song from Barcelona. He is a top player. I remember watching him play in the Premier League at Arsenal. I have also seen bits of him at Barcelona.
I am learning all the time from watching him in training. It is no accident that he has played with some of the best players in the world. He has earned the right. So I want to learn as much as I can, and improve as much as possible.
On Thursday, I captained the team in a friendly against Ipswich at the Boleyn Ground. All the lads played very well as we won 5-1. The main thing was just about getting minutes on the pitch, not the result. It was also important to give some of the younger boys an opportunity to play. It was a good performance all round, yet we probably could have scored a couple more. Overall I was very pleased.
I really enjoyed played alongside Alex in midfield. Judging by the incredible build-up play for Diafra Sakho's goal, I'm sure Ravel and all the other players would agree. I felt the three of us did well together in midfield.
Another player who impressed me was Matthias Fanimo who scored four of our five goals. He scored so many so I wasn't sure how many he got by the end! Matty is a talented winger who has come through the youth ranks here. Four goals in one game, you can't take that away from him. I think he deserves all the credit he gets for his performance.
As for my personal performance I felt good. When I played against Sheffield United I thought I would struggle, especially when the match went to extra time. But I think I did OK. That game was about ten days ago now and I'm really feeling the benefit. I feel good and I can tell how much I've got from them.
So far the first team results haven't being going our way but I don't think we are far away from turning the results around. I think we just need to keep going. We've got a lot of new players coming in and several people coming back from injury as well. We've got a really good squad for this year. If we are all fit, I think we could do really well this season.
Our first game back after the international break is away to Hull City. It's a massive game and we know it will be a tough match. However, if we keep working hard and play to our capabilities I think we will come away with a result.
Have a good weekend!
Diego