Kyle Walker-Peters could hardly keep the beaming smile off his face after his first goal for West Ham United secured an important 3-2 home Premier League win over Burnley.
Introduced as a late substitute by Head Coach Nuno Espírito Santo in an unaccustomed role on the left wing, Walker-Peters showed impressive attacking instincts to react quickest after Tomáš Souček’s initial shot had been parried by Clarets goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka.
It was just the eighth goal of the 28-year-old’s 240-game career, and one which secured what could be a vital victory for the Club he joined in the summer.
“I said to the boys, I saw Tom winding up his leg and I thought, ’you know what, I’m going to gamble here’,” our No2 grinned. “And yeah, I managed to get there before Jaz [Bowen]. I’ve said sorry to Jaz because I know how important goals are for him, but I’m delighted to score my first goal for West Ham!”
Walker-Peters hailed the spirit shown by the Hammers to come from a goal down to secure wins in consecutive Premier League matches, having not done in any of their previous 48 top-flight games.
“I think it shows the character in the whole team,” he observed. “Everyone’s together. You know, I said it earlier, you look at Tom, you look at myself, we both want to be starting games and at the moment we’re not. But when we come on, we’re doing our best to make a difference.
“Tom has done it two weeks in a row and I have this week. So, there’s really real togetherness in the group.
“It’s huge. This was a six-pointer for us, the position we’re in. We spoke about that throughout the week, how important it is for us to win, especially before the international break. We wanted to go into the break with a good feeling and we’re glad we’ve done that. We’ll work hard this coming week and prepare for the next game [at AFC Bounemouth].”
Walker-Peters closed by praising the impact and influence of Head Coach Nuno, who has galvanised the squad and implemented a fresh approach based on taking individual and collective responsibility.
“The gaffer’s spoken about being together,” he explained. “One of his main messages is being together as a unit, as a team and I think we’ve really worked on that.
“Like I said, off the pitch, we have a lot of real togetherness and everyone’s speaking to each other. Everyone’s really honest and I think the gaffer’s made that environment.
“We’re allowed to question each other and that’s good. I think sometimes you need that in a team and everyone takes on the advice and listens.
“So, it’s working. Long may it continue.”
