Player of the Match Niclas Füllkrug insists the team’s pre-season endeavours on and off the pitch are starting to pay off after he notched the winning goal in West Ham United’s Premier League Summer Series triumph over Everton.
The Germany international came off the bench as one of seven half-time changes at Soldier Field, with the score at 1-1 following Idrissa Gueye and Lucas Paquetá strikes, and he took less than 20 minutes to find the back of the net with what proved to be the winner.
It was an eye-catching, left-footed strike worthy of winning any game, but rather than dwell on his individual exploits, Füllkrug preferred to focus on the strong team work that led to the chance in the first place.
Indeed, he is buoyed by the booming team camaraderie that has been developing throughout the summer, and he is full of confidence that the feel-good vibe in the camp, combined with their hard work on the field, stands them in good stead ahead of the fresh 2025/26 campaign.
“Right now the vibe in the group is so good,” our No11 said. “There’s a lot of love in the air - we like each so much and we spend so much time with each other.
“The coach (Graham Potter) works with us not only on the pitch, but also to be a better group, to be a team and to be a family. We’re all enjoying our time together - in London, in Germany and now here in the US - and we’re starting to see the impact of what we’ve been doing.
“On the pitch, I think we’ve improved a lot. We still have work to do and not everything will be perfect right now, so we have to be patient. But I think we’re seeing what we’ve been working on all coming together.
“For my goal, it felt good of course, but the most important thing in that moment for me was not the goal. It was more about how we all went to the second ball. We had three players close to the second ball - even if it was not an easy one, everyone was fighting for it and trying to win it back. I think that reaction showed a lot, and then obviously I was happy to put it in the net.”
For Füllkrug, on a personal level, he is feeling happy and back to his best after enduring a frustrating, injury-affected first season in east London during which he was restricted to just 20 appearances in all competitions.
And with one Summer Series clash to go, the 32-year-old is looking for another step in the right direction against AFC Bournemouth in Atlanta on Sunday, with West Ham remaining in the hunt for the competition’s trophy.
Füllkrug added: “I believe in energy, and if you use positive energy, the positive things will come to you as a group, as a player and as a human. That's why I try to smile and I try to bring positive energy everywhere. I don't do it on purpose or something, it's just because I believe when you use positive energy, you get positive energy back and then the positives will come to you.
“There’s a lot to be positive about at the moment, in my opinion, and hopefully we can take that into the next game. Today we were playing against a team known to defend very well, and we coped with it.
“There were good performances all over the pitch - Dinos [Mavropanos] did very well in my opinion, JC [Todibo], Max [Kilman], Nayef [Aguerd] - they tried to find new positions to play the ball in between the lines and it worked out very well.
“We’re all just looking forward to the rest of this trip now, trying to get another win and of course getting ready to be at our best for when the Premier League is back.”
