Jack Sullivan is the youngest son of West Ham United Joint-Chairman David Sullivan and is a huge Hammers fan. Jack will be giving his exclusive views to the official website in a regular new column...
Hello everyone,
I cannot believe the new season is already underway, but what a fantastic way for us to get started coming away with a 3-0 win in our first game in the Europa League.
The scoreline could have been a lot more but we are able to take with us a comfortable lead to Andorra and hopefully we can make it through to the second qualifying round.
I thought Mauro Zarate played really well and it will be great if he can keep up this form and show Slaven Bilic that he is ready to fight for a place in the starting line-up.
It was also good to see Diafra Sakho get among the goals straight away. We all know the quality he has got in front of goal and if we can keep him fit this could be another big season for him at West Ham United.
I was able to meet Slaven for the first time which I was really excited about. He was in a really good mood and looked very happy to be back at the Club.
I listened to what James Tomkins had to say after the game and that you cannot hear a pin drop when the manager speaks in the dressing room. That shows the respect that all the players have towards him.
There were so many positives to come out of the game and I think a lot of people would have gone away impressed with the performance of Reece Oxford.
He started in midfield and then went back to a defensive role where I thought he looked very strong.
Lewis Page also looked very comfortable playing on that stage and it was exciting to see Josh Cullen come on and almost get on the scoresheet with a fantastic shot which struck the crossbar.
I like watching Josh in action and whenever I have been to see the Under-21s in action he has already impressed me.
The atmosphere at the Boleyn Ground was excellent and you can sense that the fans are really excited by the arrival of the new manager and the new signings.
We now look forward to making the trip to Andorra and I know a few people who are going to the game.
I am sure we are going to get a great reception over there. The directors of FC Lusitans were really nice people and they brought us a plate for the first game which had a horse on it.
We gave them a meal the night before the game and it was all good sportsmanship. I cannot wait to see the team play abroad and I will be going to the game with my dad.
We are flying to Spain and will then drive over to the game and will not get back until the early hours of Friday morning.
It promises to be an extremely long day with a lot of travelling involved but it is all part of the European experience.
I know the other first-team players who are not involved in this stage of the Europa League are out working hard in Ireland at their fitness camp.
It is nice for the players to bond with each other at this stage of pre-season and especially the new signings who have come into the squad.
We hope to bring even more new signings into the squad, but it is a slow process and there is no rush at the moment.
I love all the games that are taking place at the moment and will try to see as many of them as possible.
I look forward to speaking with you all again soon.
Jack
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United