Nathan Holland has enjoyed a memorable season already and, with the turn of the year in sight, the winger is already looking to make even more of an impact with West Ham United.
The 21-year-old has two Premier League appearances under his belt, having earned his debut away to Wolverhampton Wanderers before also coming on as a substitute at home to Arsenal, and the midfield Academy graduate has relished his breakthrough into the senior squad.
Having suffered with injuries last season, Holland believes his recent showings in Manuel Pellegrini’s is reward for his hard work and efforts, and the youngster is determined to show even more if given the chance.
“Making my debut as amazing,” Holland said. “It took a lot of hard work so, to finally be rewarded and brought on against Wolves, when we were 1-0 down, showed a lot of faith in me by the manager. I really appreciated it.
“Last season, I had to be very patient. I struggled with injuries and I had to get that right. This season, I’ve been on the pitch and I’ve worked hard both on and off the pitch. I’m seeing massive rewards for that.
“I just want to keep training hard and, if I do get any more moments on the pitch, which I hope I do, I want to give my all and see where that takes me.”
I just want to keep training hard and, if I do get any more moments on the pitch, which I hope I do, I want to give my all and see where that takes me
Nathan Holland
Holland has been in impressive form for West Ham Under-23s this season, netting eleven goals and providing six assists in just 12 games for Dmitri Halajko’s side, which led to the pacey wide-man’s debut at Wolves at the start of December.
He continued: “I remember being told that I was on the bench at Wolves. We travelled the night before and had the meeting, which is where I found out I was on the bench. Then I remember being told to go and warm up and I thought I might have a chance to come on. A lot was going on in my mind but I wanted to settle down and get on the pitch.
“You want to try and get into the game as quickly as you can and just do what you normally do. The other players are telling me to do what I normally do, and be positive. When I come on, I just want to make things happen, as I would in any single game, whether it was Under-23s or the first team. I just want to try and make things happen.”
Holland has become the latest graduate from the Academy of Football to make a breakthrough into West Ham senior squad, following the likes of Grady Diangana and Ben Johnson into making their first-team debuts under Pellegrini.
The winger appreciates the support Pellegrini has given him and wants to keep developing under the Chilean.
“He [Pellegrini] knows what he is talking about. He has a lot of experience and all the players respect him. Hopefully we can keep working hard, and listening to what he tells us, and the hard work will pay off.
“All the coaches have helped me grow, and the manager has too. He has always told me to be positive and given me a lot of confidence.”
The Hammers’ second match in two days comes this evening against a Leicester City side that sits comfortably in the top four of the Premier League, and Holland has been impressed with what he has seen from the Foxes this campaign.
Although Brendan Rodgers’ team were beaten 4-0 at home by Liverpool on Boxing Day, the West Ham midfielder knows today’s visitors to London Stadium will prove a tricky test.
“Leicester have been unbelievable,” Holland added. “I don’t think anyone expected them to do as well as they have but they’ve got a lot of good players.
“They’re a young team and they are doing really well. It will be tough. They are really well organised. Hopefully we can make it hard for them and get three points.
“We’ve trained hard and worked on quite a few things that we need to improve on. We hope to see that pay off.”
