Sam Baldock has told West Ham TV he is determined to make his mark again for West Ham United.
The diminutive striker opened his account for 2012/13 by scoring the Hammers' goal in their 3-1 pre-season defeat at FK Austria Wien on Saturday with a typically-opportunist close-range finish.
Having been left out of the starting lineup for much of the second half of last season, the No7 is itching to force his way back into manager Sam Allardyce's thoughts and make an impact in the Barclays Premier League.
"I don't see why I can't take this opportunity to stake my claim," said Baldock. "Everyone knows that during the second half of last year I was very frustrated.
"I'm a footballer who wants to play football at the end of the day. I've been working hard and hopefully I'll be given a chance to show what I can do."
Focusing on his goal, Baldock revealed that he had been slightly fortunate to score, but that there was no luck involved in him being in the right place at the right time to meet Carlton Cole's far-post cross.
Having worked on movement in the opposition penalty area on the training pitch the previous day, it was pleasing for the forward to see his hard work pay off.
"I wasn't particularly pleased with my performance but I don't think anyone can say they played particularly well - it was more about getting a run out and seeing if you can get that match-sharpness after six days of training.
"It was a good end to the trip in a nice stadium with a good atmosphere and quite a few travelling fans, which was nice to see.
"I saw Coley made a great run and he got pretty much to the byline. I thought I'd lose my marker by making a run to the back stick where he hung it up and to be honest it just hit me!
"It hit the defender and came off my shoulder but it's a goal and strikers love goals, don't they."
*Speaking to West Ham TV, Baldock also discussed his week at the Club's pre-season training camp in Bad Waltersdorf, competition for places and thesuperb team spirit present in the squad.