Diafra Sakho hopes Sunday’s goal against Werder Bremen in the Betway Cup will be the first of many that he scores courtesy of Hammers playmaker Dimitri Payet.
Just as he did on Thursday evening, Payet provided the ammunition for West Ham’s opener, this time dinking in a delicate cross from the right.
There was Sakho, eight yards out, to volley crisply into the corner and the Senegal forward believes there are plenty more where that came from.
“He [Payet] always creates goals, whether that's for me on Sunday or Valencia last time,” Sakho told West Ham TV.
“He's always there to give those assists. I think he'd prefer to give the passes than even score his own goals and we're there to take advantage of it.
“If you have a player like him, you’ve got to make the most of it and try to score as many goals as possible. I hope that's the first assist and he's going to have plenty more.
“Above all, it was a good cross, and as I had taken two steps forward, I was telling myself I was just trying to guide the ball towards goal and that's what I managed to do.
“It puts a smile on my face to see it hit the back of the net. I hope I'm going to hit plenty more that are going to end up in the net too.”
Though Anthony Ujah’s first-half double fired the visitors to a 2-1 victory at the Boleyn Ground, Sakho was still content with another good workout and felt there were plenty of positives to take into the fast-approaching Barclays Premier League campaign.
He continued: “I think overall we played well, it was another opportunity to prepare.
“It's good to play against Premier League teams and top-flight German teams who are up there in the table. That gives us the opportunity to work hard and do some running behind the ball.
“Though we lost on Sunday, I think we did some good things, and we have to stress those good things for the league season to come.”
West Ham’s band of new recruits have now had a few weeks to settle into life in east London and Sakho, who is clearly impressed with what he sees, expects the influx of players to serve the squad well.
“It's the quality that counts, the quality that we're able to make the most of. It's also good that there's a little more competition for everyone, it's going to push everyone to give their 100 per cent to try to play.”