Collins - I cannot wait to get back involved

collins
James Collins is hoping to witness another special atmosphere inside London Stadium and would love to help his side record a big victory when the Hammers host Stoke on Saturday.
 
With Winston Reid ruled out through suspension, Collins is in the frame to win back his place in the starting line-up and says he is ready to get his own season back on track.
 
The Wales international started the campaign in impressive fashion when he got on the scoresheet against Chelsea in the opening game, but then lost his place in the team.
 
Collins is now hoping to make amends and help the Hammers return to winning ways as they look to move clear of the bottom three this weekend.
 
Collins said: “I cannot wait to get back involved. I obviously wasn't happy with my form in the last couple of games that I played.
 
“Hopefully I can come in and play as good as the boys have in recent games and we can get the right result.
 
“There has definitely been a major turnaround in the team and the performances. There have been a number of things which have contributed towards that. Some of the games we were not playing so bad and then one thing went against us and you could see the confidence drain out of us.
 
“We have managed to keep a couple of clean sheets and the boys realised they needed to knuckle down in training and we hope it will continue against Stoke.
 
“We had a great win against Chelsea in the Cup. They are a world class team with world class players so to beat them in any competition has got to be a good performance, but it is certainly the best we have played this season.
 
“It was disappointing that we could not follow it up with a victory against Everton last weekend.
 
“We didn't take our chances and the boys looked a bit tired after they had put in so much effort against Chelsea on the Wednesday night. Everton had not played in the week and that showed. But the boys have recovered and we have now had a good weeks training. Hopefully we can get the right result on Saturday.”
 
Collins is looking forward to playing in front of nearly 57,000 West Ham supporters once again and knows the special atmosphere that can be created inside London Stadium.
 
The experienced defender says the victory over Chelsea was the best support he had witnessed this season and knows the team can play a major role in helping to re-create that noise if they get off to good start on Saturday.
 
Collins added: “That was the best atmosphere I have seen since we moved into the new Stadium. The support through the night was top drawer.
 
“If we can get off to a good start on Saturday then the fans will get behind us and we can really get the place rocking.
 
“It is a great Stadium to play in and this is a Club that is moving forward. The Stadium and facilities that we now have are capable of seeing us push for Champions League and European football.
 
“It is an exciting time. We have not been too happy with the results this season but things are starting to turn around.”

 

collins2
Collins is well aware of the threat that Stoke pose to his side, having won their last three Premier League games.
 
Influential forward Marko Arnautovic is missing through suspension, but Collins says one of the biggest threats could come from his Wales team-mate Joe Allen who has been one of the star performers in the top flight in recent weeks.
 
“Stoke have been playing well. I watched them on Monday night against Swansea and they looked very good.
 
“My Welsh colleague Joe Allen has been getting among the goals and is playing very well.
 
“He had a tremendous tournament at the Euros and I saw that first hand. I see every day what he can do and thought it was a bit disappointing that he had to leave Liverpool because I thought he could have done as good a job as anyone they have got there.
 
“He has moved to Stoke and is now playing a bit further forward than I am used to seeing. We will have to be on our toes to stop him at the weekend.
 
“Any time you play against Stoke it is always a tough game and they are well drilled and know what they are doing. We know we need to be on top of our game to get the right result.”