Reece Burke is unfazed by the prospect of playing in front of 50,000 fans at Newcastle United this weekend in what is a crucial game for the Geordies.
The 18-year-old defender has tackled everything that has been thrown at him with aplomb since being thrust into the first team picture over the last month and wants to help West Ham United end the season on a high.
He is likely to start a Barclays Premier League game for the fourth time after James Collins suffered a leg injury last week and says he is ready.
“I’m pretty excited at the prospect of playing there,” he explained. “Ginge came off at the weekend, so it could be my chance again but I’ll find out in the next few days.
“I want to prepare well and finish off with a win in the last game of the season.
“It’s been great to play at a few of these grounds. I’m really excited by Saturday’s game. It’s a big one for them and obviously we want to win as well, because we’ve got goals and targets to achieve.
“We want to get to the 50 point mark. We’re looking for a win, and so are they, so the contest is going to be good.
“We’ll approach the game the same way we always do [whatever position they’re in]. Playing against Benteke and Lukaku in the last couple of weeks has been a great experience.
“I’ve been watching the games back and there are a few things I need to work on, looking at it, but it’s all about experience for me as a young lad coming through. Hopefully it’ll make me better.”
Coming off the bench against Everton last Saturday added to his experience as he had to get up to the speed of the contest straight away.
He added: “Before the game I was told by a few of the physios to be ready, then early on in the game Ginge was struggling. Coming on is different to starting a game – it’s harder to come on to the pitch and match the tempo straight away.
“As the game goes on, there’s more tempo than sitting on the bench. There’s a lot going on, so going from the watching the game mindset to being ready is key otherwise you will go onto the pitch sloppy.”