Callum Marshall has enjoyed an outstanding pre-season and once again showed his quality, scoring four goals in West Ham’s 8-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League Next Generation Cup Final on Saturday.
The Hammers advanced to the final after a 4-3 victory against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, with the Hammers coming back from a three-goal deficit to advance to the final.
The striker was full of praise for his team’s performance in a breath-taking display at the Tottenham Hotspur Academy.
“If I’m being honest, we went into the game with reservations,” Marshall told whufc.com. “Spurs gave us a really good game last season and I remember we lost to them, so we knew it was a tough game against a tough opposition.
“We were on it from the start though and we were all over them with our press and intensity. I don’t think that they could play through our shape.
“I think our link up in the attack worked really well, especially with Patrick Kelly in behind us. We put the game to bed in the first half and from there, they couldn’t really recover.
“We wanted to continue to push and score more goals in the second half. Everyone was at it today and I think everyone enjoyed the game and the performance.”
Marshall finished as the tournament’s top goalscorer, with seven goals in the two games against Palace and Spurs.
Evaluating his preseason, he continued: “I think I’ve scored 14 goals in preseason now so it’s been really pleasing and hopefully I can continue this form once the season begins. To be honest, I just love playing football and I just want to continue to help the team.
“I was very happy to play the full 90 minutes today, I like the way our coaches approached it, they said at half time that if we wanted to stay on then we would have to stay on it, and that really helped us to continue at a high intensity in the second half.
“I’m delighted with today and long may it continue.”
Marshall has enjoyed a preseason camp in Portugal with the U21 side and the youngster is looking to continue his development this season, but says he will continue to push himself, no matter what level he is playing at.
“The aim for the upcoming season is to score goals no matter what team I’m in, and to win as many games as possible. Obviously, there could be opportunities to play for the U21s this season, and I enjoyed my time with them in Portugal a couple of weeks ago, so I will try to push to play at that level.
“I want to be a regular starter in the U21s, but I am also happy in the U18s and will always give my all no matter what side I am in. As long as I’m scoring goals and playing well, then I will be happy.”
