Women's team defender Shannon Cooke says she is enjoying her football at West Ham United.
The 24-year-old has played every minute of the Irons' opening three matches of 2024/25 across the Barclays Women's Super League and Women's League Cup, and Cooke is enjoying life out on the pitch in Claret and Blue.
It's been a good week for Rehanne Skinner's side. They first secured a 1-1 draw against Liverpool thanks to a late Riko Ueki header last Sunday, before following that up with a 6-1 hammering of Portsmouth in the Women's League Cup.
It means that the Hammers head to the North West to face Manchester City on Sunday with plenty of confidence, and centre-half Cooke believes her side are up for the challenge of taking points from Gareth Taylor's team.
"It's been a really positive week for us so far," Cooke told whufc.com. "To start things off with a good draw with Liverpool and to then go and score six and win really gives us all a lot of confidence going into the game against Manchester City.
"We know they are a good team, but we prepare the same for every game, and we're looking forward to the challenge."
Cooke joined West Ham United in January 2023, and only played 12 minutes of league action in the 2022/23 campaign as she adapted to the rigours of life in the WSL.
However, under Skinner, Cooke found minutes easier to come by last term, making a total of 19 appearances and also scoring her first goal for the Club in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa back in April.
This season, Cooke has been key for the team in their opening three outings, and she says she is enjoying the amount of time she is spending out on the pitch.
She continued: "I'm really enjoying my football at the moment. One of my goals is to play as many minutes as possible, to be on the pitch helping the team because I love to play and I love to win.
"I came to West Ham in January 2023 straight out of college in the USA, and it probably took me a couple of months to get up to the speed of play. I think that's the same for a lot of the players that come to the WSL for the first time.
"I've definitely improved as a player during my time here, and I have to thank the staff here for helping me do so. I'm still a young player, and I'm learning every day, so I want to make sure that I continue to learn and take everything in to be a better player."
Manchester City were pipped to top spot last season by reigning champions Chelsea, and Taylor's side will be aiming for the title this time around.
They have made an unbeaten start to the campaign, but Cooke believes that West Ham have an opportunity to catch the Citizens out on Sunday and come out with another positive result.
"We can't go into the game being scared of the quality they have," Cooke explained. "We're all footballers, and we're talented enough to be going up against them.
"It's a game of football, and we've seen before in this division that anything can happen, so may the best team win on Sunday."
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