From the Boardroom - David Gold

Joint-Chairman David Gold is thrilled to see Cheikhou Kouyate sign a new contract with the Club

I want to start with more fantastic news for the Club and I am thrilled that Cheikhou Kouyate has pledged his long-term future to West Ham United and signed a new five-year contract.


It once again proves that we are determined to bring in top quality players and keep them on a long-term basis as we move ever closer to our historic move into the new Stadium during the summer.


We have won the right to dream and for once our dreams are coming true. Our dream was not to face a relegation struggle and challenge at the very top and that is what we have done.


It will be a surprise to many but we always felt that the squad of players that we were putting together would help us knock on the door of the big teams.


As I said earlier in the season the big boys will start looking over their shoulders and that has proved to be the case.


In fact we are now looking over our shoulders at some of the big teams! We have come a long way.


I hope our good run against the London teams can continue on Saturday when we face Chelsea.


We have already done the double over some big clubs this season, notably Liverpool for the first time in over 50-years and this is another great opportunity for us by beating Chelsea at their place.


We know it will not be easy as they have gone 13 games unbeaten in the Premier League and have been on an incredible run since Guus Hiddink took charge. They will be looking to continue that run.


However we are not the team of yesteryear and have every chance of pulling off the double.


It is hard to believe the transformation that has taken place at the Club but it was always our plan to bring in quality players.


We had confidence in the manager and have continued our policy of bringing in quality signings.


We are over our injury scares of a few months ago when we were getting more than normal and all our players are coming back which is great news.


It is fantastic news that Dimitri Payet has won the PFA Fans' Player of the Month for February with Mark Noble coming second.


It once again shows the quality of our players and the impact that Slaven is having on players like Mark who is arguably having his best season.


Although Dimitri has missed two months of the season, he has been absolutely exceptional throughout the rest of the season and keeps getting better.


The fans are singing his name every game and only special players are treated in this way.


He has the natural ability where he relates to the fans and enjoys the fans love. It is a one-off and he would certainly be my Player of the Year with Mark Noble just behind him.


It is the perfect storm – we have players who have been at the club for a number of years and are having their best season.


We also have new players coming in who are performing beyond our expectations and have a manager who is exceeding our expectations.


All these things have come together at a time when we are celebrating our final ever season at the Boleyn Ground and we then prepare for our move to the new Stadium during the summer.