Tuesday, July 26, 2005

 

Yossi chuffed

Yossi Benayoun has revealed his excitement about his move to West Ham in an earlier interview.

"It's a fantastic challenge to come to the Premier League and a dream move for me," he told the Club's official website. "It is the best league in the world, with some of the best players, and I am very grateful to West Ham United for giving me the opportunity to come to the Premiership. It's exciting for me to be playing at West Ham United and I am determined to do my best for the team in the coming season. The Club has only just been promoted, but the atmosphere is very positive and everyone, from the manager and coaches to the players, believes that we can achieve a good finish in the Premiership next season."

Yossi had no doubts about where he wanted to be and, importantly, the Club's ambitions had a part to play in his move. He said, "I knew Bolton Wanderers were also interested in me, but when I spoke to Eyal [Berkovic] about West Ham he said that this was the club to join. After that I had no hesitation in signing. I had already been very impressed with the ambitions of the Club and the plans of the manager, who is determined to help the Club progress on the pitch. Eyal also explained to me the passion of the West Ham United fans and the feeling of playing for such a crowd. After speaking to him I wanted to be a part of the team here and was delighted when the signing was agreed."

He also spoke of the physical demands of the Premiership, and his role as a player within the Club. "I know that the English league is very physical, but I believe in my ability to handle the pace of the game in England," he said. "I am delighted to be playing in the Premier League and I think that I can do a good job for the team. Strength is something I'm sure that I will work on during the coming weeks to make sure I am ready by the start of the season.

"I am mostly an attacking midfielder. That is where I have played for my previous clubs and also in international football. But my role is down to the manager and I will play wherever he asks me to. I know Teddy Sheringham is an excellent player and if I am competing with him for my place then it will be difficult. But there are lots of very talented players at the Club and I will just try to do my best to impress the manager.

"There are players at West Ham United who I can learn a lot from and hopefully I can do that over the season to improve as a player. There is a strong team principle at the Club and a desire to work for the good of the squad. That is definitely how it should be and I am looking forward to being a part of that."

You can read the entire interview here.



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