Konchesky off the mark

While record signing Dean Ashton may have grabbed the headlines with a home debut goal for the Hammers against Sunderland on Saturday, our other goalscorer in the 2-0 win was also celebrating his first strike for the Club.

In what was his 28th appearance for the Hammers since arriving from Charlton Athletic last summer, Paul Konchesky finally got his name on the scoresheet with a low left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area that squirmed under the body of goalkeeper Kelvin Davis and trickled into the net in front of the Bobby Moore stand.

It may not have rivalled fellow defender Anton Ferdinand's goal of the month contender against Fulham a fortnight ago, but the lifelong Hammers fan certainly wasn't complaining after finally realising his dream of scoring at Upton Park.

"It was nice to finally get my first goal for West Ham," he said afterwards. "I've been waiting a long time for that and I was delighted to see it hit the back of the net.

"It wasn't the greatest goal I'll ever score but they all count and hopefully I can weigh in with a couple more before the end of the season."

As long as our pack of talented strikers continue to produce the goods, Hammers fans will settle for the 24-year-old left-back just providing his usual consistency and tireless attacking support on the left flank.

In a campaign that has seen him return to the full England team thanks to his performances in a claret and blue shirt, Paul is hoping that the next few months turn out to be a success for both club and country, but for now he is just focused on keeping the winning run going at Upton Park.

"We've got Birmingham at home next Monday, so we'll just keep doing the same things and hopefully make it seven wins in a row," he said.

"That would mean a lot to the club, because I don't think it's happened for something like 20 years.

"All the boys are confident at the moment, our results breed that of course. We've got players coming off the bench who are making a big impact, so the team spirit and character of the squad is first class, and we've just got to keep going and looking up at what we can achieve."