Reid up for the cup

Winston Reid is eager to sample his first evening kick-off with West Ham United in Tuesday night's Carling Cup tie at the Boleyn Ground.

He may have only been a West Ham United player for two weeks, but the New Zealand international felt Saturday's Barclays Premier League defeat by Bolton Wanderers as keenly as any of his team-mates. As such, he is looking to help the Hammers bounce back with the visit of Oxford United.

While Reid might not know much about the League Two side, he is fully aware of the need for the Hammers to score a morale-boosting win over the Us.

"Of course it's most important that we win. We have to go out to win all those cups because, you never know, you might get to the end of the season and be in the final and it's a chance to win a trophy, so of course we have to win that one."

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On Saturday, the 22-year-old centre-back was forced into action from the substitutes bench when Matthew Upson was injured scoring the own-goal that paved the way for Bolton's 3-1 success.

Reid produced an encouraging display, looking comfortable in possession and strong both the air and the tackle.

Afterwards, though, the summer signing from Danish club FC Midtjylland was left feeling shattered by his side's second straight defeat following last weekend's 3-0 reverse at Aston Villa.

"I thought the fans were great. We played decent in the first half but unfortunately the goals didn't come. Bolton have scored a couple of times, but that's the way football goes sometimes.

"It obviously takes time but on Saturday I played in the position that I think I am best in and I thought I did better than I did against Villa. It was a little different game than it was against Villa. We had the ball a lot more and were the ones making the pressure.

"In the end it's hard to say anything when they score three goals and you only score one. We haven't had the best start to the season - two games and no points - but it's a long season and we've got to take it game by game."

The quietly-spoken Reid caught the eye with his willingness to bring the ball out of defence, while he also saw one goalbound volley blocked as West Ham attempted an unlikely late comeback.

"I think I'm pretty good with the ball at my feet and can find some good solutions. I will try and prove my worth to the team."

Following Tuesday's cup tie, West Ham go to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in a fixture the Kiwi is looking forward to greatly - but only because it is the next opportunity to gather three Barclays Premier League points.

"It would be a great venue to play at but the most important thing is not the team we're playing against or the ground we're playing at, but it's about getting points right now."