- Hammers defender Winston Reid looks back to last season’s terrific opener against Arsenal
- He says his side can start this season just as well
- The new season is a chance to start from scratch, explains the New Zealand international
Winston Reid is keen for the Hammers to replicate last season’s terrific start when they face Chelsea in their first Premier League clash of the season on Monday.
Slaven Bilic’s side got off the mark on the opening day last campaign at Arsenal and take on another of the division’s top sides in Antonio Conte’s Blues at Stamford Bridge.
And Reid recognised the challenge the Hammers face, but sounded his confidence ahead of the curtain-raiser.
He said: “Chelsea, who have a top new manager, will be raring to go and will want to start well and it’s tough against the top sides, but we hope to do what we did last season at Arsenal and pick up a positive result.
“Last season, that game really kick-started the season and we hope something similar will come our way. It would be the perfect start.
“It’s going to be tough. Obviously they had a disappointing season last year and have a quality squad, but we want to try and go there and get a good result.”
West Ham picked up four points from the west London outfit last season and it could have been more had it not been for a moment of controversy late on at Stamford Bridge in March.
And Reid thinks the disappointment felt after the clash was a sign of how far the Club had come over the course of the season under Bilic’s leadership.
“We were disappointed last season and it of course showed that we’ve come a long way,” the New Zealand international continued. “But in any match in which you concede a late goal to prevent you picking up three points, you’ll be disappointed.
“In that game, we produced a lot of chances and we should have won. We didn’t and we picked up too many draws around that time.
“But this is a new season and it’s a chance for us to start from scratch. We want to go there and get the best possible start at Stamford Bridge and we believe we can do that.”