Nicky Maynard, West Ham United

Maynard aims to prove his worth in pre-season

Hammers striker Nicky Maynard is desperate to make a lasting impression during pre-season, in order to fulfil his dream of playing in the Premier League.

The former Bristol City forward joined West Ham in January of this year, scoring two goals in 14 appearances in the second half of the season.

However, now feeling fully settled, the 25-year-old it targeting more goals this campaign in the top flight.

“It is every English footballer’s dream to play in the Premier League and that is the main reason I left Bristol City,” he said. “I wanted to play in the Premier League as quickly as possible, West Ham came in for me and I am here now and it is down to me to produce and stay in the top flight for West Ham.

“I am really as happy as I can be, but it is now down to getting as many goals as I can in pre-season and getting ready for the new campaign.”

Hammers boss Sam Allardyce has plenty of strikers to currently choose from, with more rumoured to be on their way, despite the manager often choosing to only play one front man.

This doesn’t worry Maynard, though, who is keen to fight for his place.

“I believe in my ability and I believe I can do the job,” he said. “The gaffer has got so many strikers he can choose from so it is down to us to catch his eye in these games and try and win a place for the first game of the season.

“If we do well in these games we might be on the teamsheet for the Villa game.”

Looking forward to West Ham’s opening fixtures, Maynard has targeted a strong start, and admits it could have been a lot worse in terms of the opposition.

“The gaffer has said to us that it could have been a lot harder when you look at the first few games,” he added. “It is down to us to get off to a great start and the better start we have the better chance we have of staying in the league.

“We believe if we can start well, then come Christmas time we can start enjoying our football a lot more without the worry of relegation.

“We want to show how good we are by getting off to a great start.”