Chicharito cannot wait to get back on the pitch in a West Ham United shirt at Fulham on Saturday.
The Hammers’ Mexican striker is in his best form since joining the club in the summer of 2017, having scored four goals in his last six appearances and helped his team collect 13 points from a possible 18.
The 30-year-old marksman is eager to hit the target again at Craven Cottage and play his part in a fourth successive victory.
“Of course, we want to keep that momentum and get another three points away against Fulham and make it 12 [points] from 12,” he confirmed. “That’s our goal and that’s what we want to do.
“But we know they have changed manager [to Claudio Ranieri] and we know they want to win as well and they’ll fight for their lives because that’s what you do, so it’s going to be a very good match.”
This club is in a transition to be one of the top seven clubs every season and that’s what we want, to play in European competition as often as we can
Chicharito
Chicharito likened his excitement at playing for West Ham to that which he feels when he plays for his national team.
As Mexico’s talisman and all-time record goalscorer, the Guadalajara-born forward believes he will hit the net every time he pulls on his country’s shirt – and now he is developing the same confidence in Claret and Blue.
“You always want to have chances and to take them and score,” he continued. “I have always said it doesn’t matter if I score or don’t score, but good strikers want to help their team with their effort, their performances and their movements. Whatever the manager wants us to do, we do, and I will try to help this club.
“This club is in a transition to be one of the top seven clubs every season and that’s what we want, to play in European competition as often as we can.
“That’s the main goal and hopefully we can achieve that this season.”
After a difficult start to the season both collectively and individually, when he was laid low with a virus, the joy is clearly returning to Chicharito’s game, both in the way he is playing and the way he is celebrating.
“It’s easy for me to say as I am a forward that I always love to play in an offensive way,” he said. “I’m going to repeat it again; this club was in a transition as we got the London Stadium with 60,000 Irons fans cheering us and supporting us and, if we keep playing more offensively and keep that mentality, we will get closer to where we want to get.
“Football is never predictable and anything can happen, but we’re going to do everything we can to try to get there.”
While managers and players are usually reluctant to set targets, Chicharito admits Manuel Pellegrini’s belief that West Ham can reach the top six breeds optimism throughout the squad.
“We believe in that and why not?” he smiled. “We want to get into a European position and we said that at the start of the season.
“It looked unlikely to happen when we lost the first 12 points, but now we have been on a run and we are a few points away from sixth place.
“That’s our goal and hopefully we can do it.”