- West Ham No30 had to sit out Monday’s defeat to Chelsea due to suspension
- Antonio thought Hammers started well against league leaders
- Club’s 2016/17 top goalscorer itching to return for Saturday’s trip to AFC Bournemouth
Michail Antonio admitted he hated the experience of having to watch on from the sidelines as West Ham United lost out to Chelsea on Monday.
The Hammers No30 has been a virtual ever-present in every competition his team have been involved in this term, so the suspension picked up for his sending off at Watford led to a rare break from action.
With Eden Hazard and Diego Costa on target, Antonio was frustrated at not being able to influence proceedings and cannot wait to return when the east Londoners head to AFC Bournemouth this Saturday.
“I hate having to watch and didn’t really know what to do with myself when I was watching the game,” he admitted.
“You always want to play your part, but I wasn’t able to. Hopefully we can turn it around on Saturday.
“Playing Bournemouth brings back memories of my goal against them earlier in the season. It’s a good memory and good to be in the history books for the first goal at London Stadium, so hopefully I can get another one down there.
“We’ve been on a good run away from home, and Monday’s game won’t knock us back in any way. We’ll we raring to go.
“We started off so well against Chelsea and had a lot of possession. I thought we were running the game, and then one slight mistake led to a counter-attack and they punished us.
“I think we lost to the champions. They are a good team – a good attacking team – and that’s why they’re clear by a few points at the top of the table.”