Jarrod Bowen and Callum Wilson say Sunday’s 3-0 Premier League triumph at Nottingham Forest was the ideal confidence boost for West Ham United ahead of the first international break of the season.
The Hammers put a challenging start to the season behind them in emphatic fashion as Bowen, Lucas Paquetá's penalty, and a first West Ham goal for Wilson gave them their first victory of the 2025/26 campaign and our first Premier League win at the City Ground since 1996.
And the two forwards discussed the confidence boost handed to the Hammers after victory over the Tricky Trees, and believe the ‘perfect away performance’ also represented the ideal way to kickstart our season.
“It was a really good performance from us. I thought we limited them, and didn't really give them many chances,” Bowen beamed. “I thought as the game was going on, we forced their goalkeeper into a few good saves, and each of our goals show a bit of quality.
“I know one was a penalty, but the way Cry (Crysencio Summerville) got the penalty and we broke [forward], all the goals were real moments of quality. It was the perfect away day.
“I feel in a good place in a difficult time. As a team and results and being captain, there's responsibility on you, there's eyes on you. I take that responsibility every single day. But I know on an individual level, if I can bring my A-game every single week, that's what I can do.
“The goal was just instinct, as you know where the goal is. The goal never moves, as we were told when we were younger, and to see it find the back of the net in front of the away fans and in front of my family who were here well was a really good moment.”
Wilson may not have been a Hammers player for that long, but he already feels part of the furniture in east London.
The experienced 33-year-old has made an eye-catching start to the season and impressed in each game from the substitutes’ bench.
It was the same on Sunday on Trentside, and having been denied only by a great one-handed save by Matz Sels shortly after his introduction, he was rewarded with his first goal for the Club, a header which set the seal on what was a result to remember.
And Wilson revealed his delight in clinching his first Hammers goal - and keeping himself 32 Premier League goals clear of Bowen by taking the ball off the captain's toe after he had slalomed through the Forest defence in added-time!
“It was nice to obviously get the one [goal] and help the team get the three points," Wilson smiled. “I had a task to do when I came on, which was trying to help us get a lead in the game, which I tried to do, and on another day, I could’ve scored three from the shots I had.
“Apologies to Jazz (Bowen), as he's putting down records and so am I, and we do it together now!
“I'm eleven away from 100 [Premier League goals] now. That's obviously what I'm aiming for. Jazz is aiming for West Ham's all-time top scorer as well, so we'll help him do that. Obviously, he's helping me as well along the way. These are all individual accolades, but it's about the team.
“I think today was important to get some points going into the break as it's been a difficult few weeks, but it’s nice to put an end to losing defeats.
“I think for me, I've been training and working hard behind the cameras, waiting for an opportunity.
“I've not managed to get a start yet, but it's about trying to impress in the time that you do get on the pitch, and today I tried to do that. It's always nice to score in front of the fans as well.
“The lads were doing it, and I was getting jealous. I want to get my own goal, and to be fair, it's a fantastic ball from Malick [Diouf] as well.
“I've seen him do that so many times. It was just about getting into the right position to get on the end of it, and thankfully, it went in.”
“He (Wilson) is a man that knows where the back of the net is,” Bowen said, when asked what his fellow England international has brought to the Club. “Since he's come in, as a person off the pitch, I get on really well him with as well, and we're building that connection on the pitch as well. I think that's so important.
“He's a goal scorer, a proven goal scorer in the Premier League. If you have that option as well, it's always going to help. We need all those goals that we can, and he's a credit to himself and deserves the goal today.”
And now, with Graham Potter’s troops having put an end to their disappointing three-game winless run in all competitions, Bowen and Wilson are looking to build on the team’s ascent 15th place, with back-to-back home fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace to come in September.
Bowen said: “You’ve got to take the rough with this move. When things aren't going well, rightly so, people write bad things about you. But I think it's important when you win as well that good things are written about you as well, and at the stage of the season that we're in, I've said after the defeats, you never get too low after a defeat.
“I think as a win, you enjoy the moment, but you never get too ahead of yourself. You're always looking to the next one.
“We have a break now. When we come back, we have a massive rivalry game, which the lads will be up for and once that we can go in with a lot of confidence.”
“It gives us something to build on,” added Wilson. “Yes, the results weren't going our way, but we still had belief in ourselves. We didn't get too down.
“Everyone was coming in upbeat and just working hard. “We knew it would change. Today, we've got the rub off the green and we've got a victory, but we're not going to get too excited, too carried away.
“Hopefully, everyone comes back in good shape from the international break and then it's back to the drawing board, work hard, try and implement another game plan and then try and get a result against Tottenham.”
