Shaun: I'll Be Sad To Go

Shaun Byrne was happy with his brace of goals against Peterborough on Tuesday in a friendly as he plans for a summer switch out of Upton Park.

"I haven't played for a month since I returned from Swansea on loan so it was a good little run-out, nice to be in midfield, and good to score a couple of goals as well," he says.

Shaun knows he will be leaving at the end of the season and admits:

"It is time to move on now; I have been here since I was eight years old and a lot of staff are still here like Jimmy Frith, people I have known for years.

"As for players, there are still quite a few remaining like Richie Garcia and Michael Carrick - and it will be sad to leave.

"I will be upset, but that is what happens in football - you have got to move on to play regular football."

Shaun has grown up with some of the best talent West Ham has produced and he adds:

"It has been an honour to play with some of those players but I have to go elsewhere, start playing for myself, and hope things work out for me."

He insists he has not been jealous about the players that have gone on to become stars, and explains:

"They deserve it; fair play to them - I am not the kind of player who envies other players."

As to his future plans, he adds:

"There are a few clubs but nothing is 100% - I don't really want to comment on where I can or can't go, but hopefully I have a few options yet.

"The thing is to make a living and just to play football; it has been so hard here just playing in the ressies for five years and maybe getting on the bench now and then, getting two minutes here and there - it is not good for you, especially at my age, 23."

Could he, perhaps, return to Swansea where he had a brief loan spell?

"It worked out; they did offer me something but it wasn't much for me to go there and I just have to go and find myself a club," he says.

Shaun played alongside two Australian trialists on Tuesday, Jade North and Wayne Srhoj, and he says:

"They weren't too bad; they look all right and can do a bit - when you get some trialists you think 'oh, what are they doing here' but you can tell they have a bit and aren't just there for the experience."

As for the club's chances of promotion, Shaun concludes:

"There's no doubt we can go up through the playoffs.

"There was always going to be changes; with the amount of top quality players we had there was always players who were going to go.

"You just have to deal with it and take it in your stride - and there is no other team we should fear about getting beaten by."