Lanzini aiming to help Hammers ‘recover lost ground’

Manuel Lanzini
Manuel Lanzini wants to help West Ham United ‘recover lost ground’ when he makes his first home start of the season Friday evening.

The Hammers’ Argentine ace returned to the team at Burnley last weekend, where his array of attacking talents helped his side to a hard-fought 1-1 draw.

That result made it one defeat in five in the Premier League, to follow three straight defeats to kick-off the season in August, and Lanzini is determined to extend that encouraging run when West Ham host Brighton & Hove Albion at London Stadium.

Victory over the newly-promoted Seagulls would see Slaven Bilic’s side rise into the top half of the table for the first time since Lanzini’s goal saw off Tottenham Hotspur in early May.

“We have a team with great players, very talented,” he told Friday’s Official Programme. “Now that things are going better, we fight to the maximum to recover all the lost ground.

“The latest results have served a lot to raise spirits and we must continue that way for the rest of the season. “

Lanzini’s own spirits have been raised following his return to action after a troublesome knee injury restricted him to just 45 minutes of football in the Hammers’ opening six Premier League matches.

The No10 produced a match-changing cameo against Swansea City before returning to starting XI and putting on another eye-catching show at Turf Moor last weekend.

“It was a very ugly feeling to be injured, to watch the team from the stands and not be able to help.

“I am a player who always wants to be on the pitch, who always tries to give his maximum and be at 100 per cent, so not being able to do that was really frustrating.

“I worked very hard to be able to return to my best, because my idea was always to return to the level of performances I had before the injury. I was able to play an almost full match last week in Burnley without problems and things look much better now.”

To read Lanzini’s full interview, including his admiration for role model Leo Messi and ambitions of appearing at the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia, you can order your copy of Friday’s Official Programme here, pick up your copy in or around London Stadium or download the digital edition from 9am on matchday.