The Big Interview - Carl Jenkinson

Carl Jenkinson is ready to return from a hamstring injury and make his West Ham United debut at Hull City on 15 September.

The on-loan Arsenal and England full-back is itching to put on a Claret and Blue shirt for the first time and help his new Club rise up the Barclays Premier League table.

Jenko sat down with West Ham TV to discuss his imminent return, his assessment of West Ham's transfer activity and the arrival of his one-time Gunners team-mate Alex Song.

It is a little more than a month since you arrived, but unfortunately a hamstring injury suffered against Schalke 04 on 2 August means we have not seen you on the pitch since then. However, there now appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel?

"Fingers crossed, I should be back for the next game. It seems like a long time out, but I have only missed three league games, so it's not been the end of the world. I'll be back soon and hopefully I can do the business on the pitch."

You are one of nine players to have joined us during the summer. There will be a strong squad waiting for you when you return to the dressing room!

"Yes, we've made some great signings and that was half the reason I joined. The Club is clearly making a big push this season and we've signed some more players since I signed. I think that's a real sign of intent.

"Hopefully the players we have brought in, along with myself, can do ourselves justice in a West Ham shirt."

If we put the performance against Southampton down as a blip, the displays against Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace must have given you cause for optimism?

"We were very unfortunate against Spurs, to be honest. I watched that game and we were disappointed because we didn't deserve to lose it.

"Palace was incredibly impressive. We played some fantastic football there and, like you say, last weekend was a bit of blip. We can do a lot better than that, but you can have those games during a season. It's not plain sailing. If we can get back to how we played in the first couple of games then we'll be fine."

Cheikhou Kouyate and Aaron Cresswell have come into the side and hit the ground running, immediately becoming favourites with the Claret and Blue Army. Presumably you want to make the same impact when you come into the side?

"Yes, exactly, that's got to be the plan because those two boys have come into the side and done really well and impressed in their own positions. My aim is to get into the team and show what we can do."

After the international break, we go to Hull City, welcome Liverpool and then go to Manchester United. It's early in the season, but the big games seem to come all the time in the Barclays Premier League, don't they?

"If you look at the fixture list, the big games come thick and fast. There is no easy game in this league but that's the joy of playing in the Premier League, that's what you want.

"We've got an important game at Hull, a massive game, and then we've got two very difficult games, but if we can play how we did in the first two games then we'll have a real chance."

One player who you could make your West Ham debut alongside at the KC Stadium is Alex Song. You played alongside him at Arsenal, so know him better than most. What will he bring to the squad?

"Alex justifies the response he got at the stadium on Saturday because everybody knows how big a signing he is for the Club. He has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world and you don't do that through luck.

"He is a top player and West Ham have done very well to bring him in. Me, as much as the rest of the boys and the fans, are very excited to have him on board because he'll bring an awful lot to the side.

"He hasn't played regularly for a while now, so he needs to get his fitness up as he has said, but when he's firing on all cylinders he'll be a fantastic player for West Ham, I'm sure."

The manager has said he will look to Alex to lead and inspire the side. What sort of character is he?

"I wouldn't say Songo is the most vocal lad in the world, but top players don't always need to be. He leads by example by the way he plays and he gives players a lift. He inspires players by the way he does things.

"That's the most important thing, because you can shout all you want, but it's about how you play. He'll inspire the rest of the lads and bring him on himself if he can play as well as he can."