Ilunga has the hunger

Herita Ilunga has set his sights on a flying start to the 2009/10 campaign for West Ham United at Molineux on Saturday.

The Congolese full-back acknowledged that newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers would be fired up on their return to the top flight after five years - but believes that the Hammers should not worry about their opponents but just focus on getting their own game right.

Ilunga said: "We know they're a team who've just come into the league. They were champions of their division last season so they're a serious team, a good team.

"But we need to make a good start to the season. We're not going to worry about them, we're going to worry about our own game - about playing well as a team and making life difficult for them."

Ilunga, who played the first 45 minutes for DR Congo in their 2-1 defeat by Senegal in Paris on Wednesday night, is determined that the Hammers hit the ground running this season and build on the progress made last term under boss Gianfranco Zola.

The left-back hopes to avoid a repeat of last season's scenario where the Hammers were playing catch-up on their rivals in the top ten after a dip of form in the autumn. "We really want the win - after what happened last year it's very important to start well and have a good season."