'Sore loser' Antonio eager to help Hammers return to winning ways

Michail Antonio in training at Rush Green

 

‘Sore loser’ Michail Antonio is desperate to return to action and help West Ham United get back to winning ways.

The winger has missed the Hammers’ last two Premier League matches with a hamstring injury, but is now back in full training and hopes to make his first appearance under David Moyes against Leicester City on Friday evening.

Antonio admits watching his teammates lose out to Liverpool and Watford was difficult and vowed to do everything he can to help Moyes record his maiden win as West Ham manager at London Stadium.

“My missus calls me a ‘sore loser’ and I’m definitely someone who is competitive and wants to win games, so hopefully we can turn things around and turn these ‘Ls’ into ‘Ws’,” he said, with typical bullishness.

“Leicester have picked things up lately and they are doing all right but, for me, it’s one of those things where we have a better squad and have got better players and on Friday it should be a win for us.”

 

Michail Antonio celebrates his goal at Burnley

 

Antonio’s unique blend of strength and speed will undoubtedly add something different to Moyes’ squad, should he be declared fit for Friday’s game, and the No30 revealed the manager has spoken to him about his role going forward.

The player himself is desperate to prove his worth, not only to Moyes but to everyone associated with the Club, after being criticised for his role in Crystal Palace’s last-gasp equaliser at Selhurst Park on his last appearance in Claret and Blue.

“I’m feeling good, to be honest. I had a little bit of a tweak to my hamstring, but I’ve been training for a couple of days now and it’s feeling good and hopefully I’ll be available for the game on Friday.

“With the wingers that we have in the squad, I believe I bring a different aspect to the game as I stay wide and have pace and power, and I also like to get crosses into the box as often as I can and as early as possible. I am different, so it depends what sort of aspect the gaffer is going for and we’ll see what the team is on Friday.

“Obviously I missed the first week of training under the new manager, which was frustrating, but I spoke to him and he told me what he expects from me and what he wants from me.

“I’ve now had a couple of days of training with him and his coaches and the sessions were good and sharp, so hopefully we can take that sharpness into the game against Leicester.”