From tears to cheers!

There were no tears this time round for young West Ham United fan Callum Mann, who soaked up Saturday's 3-1 Barclays Premier League win over Southampton from the Directors' Box.

Callum was offered the exclusive experience by the Club's Board after they made an appeal to track down the young fan pictured crying at the sight of the Hammers' 5-0 FA Cup reverse at Nottingham Forest in January. Callum's father Jason came forward and confirmed it was his son and the whole family were invited to the game as the Club's guests.

Thankfully, Saturday proved an altogether more memorable outing, as eight-year-old Callum and his father Jason were treated to a VIP Boleyn Ground experience, not to mention a fourth consecutive win.

Following a visit to the dressing room to meet manager Sam Allardyce and his players, the father and son duo were also greeted by Joint-Chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold, as the Club sought to make amends for any upset at the City Ground.

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Joint-Chairman David Sullivan greets Callum after the final whistle

Youngster Callum was suitably impressed, describing the Hammers' three goals as 'epic' and revealing his plans to play for the Hammers one day. His 36-year-old dad, meanwhile, offered his thanks to the Club for their hospitality, before saluting another supreme West Ham display.

"After what happened at Forest this was a complete shock to us," he said. "We went there, we support West Ham and we go through whatever. There were another 3,000 West Ham fans there that were disappointed that day and we've just been lucky, sat in the right place at the right time.

"We do appreciate everything they've done for us and meeting Sam, meeting the players and going into the dressing room. Hats off to them!

"I think we've played brilliantly. Slow start, but the boys did well, dug in and I think they wanted it. [Mark] Noble was fantastic and deserved his man of the match and I think that's the best I've seen Stewart Downing play."

Ironically, Callum's only fright on the day came courtesy of his dad, upon being hoisted in the air in the Directors' Box when the Hammers scored.

"The view was fantastic, we didn't even have to stand up," he continued. "We just loved it. He got a bit scared when we scored, because I was chucking him up in the air. It was great.

"We met Mr Gold earlier and shook his hand and now we've met Mr Sullivan. It's been fantastic, the whole day. The Club, as they always are, have been great."

Joint-Chairman David Sullivan said: "I was delighted to welcome Callum and his family to the Director's Box for the hugely impressive win against Southampton on Saturday. As we said at the time, the away game at Nottingham Forest was a difficult afternoon for everyone at the Club and we wanted to offer Callum this chance on behalf of all of the fans that travelled that day.

"As we have seen, six weeks can be a long time in football and I know Callum was an awful lot happier after watching us secure our fourth straight win. We know Sam and the players are not planning to rest on their laurels so hopefully there'll be plenty more for Callum to smile about between now and the end of the season."