West Ham United midfielder Chiekhou Kouyate, has said that he believes that he can help the Hammers reach the Champions League. 

Going one step further 

The midfielder has been one of the best starters for Slaven Bilic this season, despite the indifferent performances of the team as a whole. The Hammers have won one of their three opening league matches, with the latest been a 3-1 defeat to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. 

The Hammers faired much worse on the European stage, crashing in the Europa League's final qualifying round to Astra Giurgiu, with a 1-0 defeat at the London Stadium. The 26-year-old wrote himself into history with the opening goals at the club's new home in the win over NK Domzale, and the Senegalese believes that the club are capable are performing on Europe's largest stage. 

“In my opinion I can play in the Champions League because I've done it before with Anderlecht and it was a very nice experience," Kouyate told the Evening Standard and firmly stated "I want to have this experience with West Ham."

He continued: "Playing football is my dream and I've come to West Ham to help the team and to help them qualify for the Champions League." 

When asked about his historic strikes, Kouyate admitted "I'm very happy to score the two goals because I will never forget this moment," and gushed to the paper "If I have kids I will tell them your father scored the first goals at this stadium."

Above: West Ham United midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate with manager Slaven Bilic | Photo: Getty Images
Above: West Ham United midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate with manager Slaven Bilic | Photo: Getty Images

Great bond 

Kouyate was brought in from Anderlecht back in 2014, but has really come into his own since the arrival of Bilic, and was full of praise for his Croatian coach. 

He said: "He helps me everyday and everyday I become better and better and in my experience the manager is unbelievable." 

Kouyate concluded: "Every time I have something to say he listens to me, he always helps me. In the game he will talk to me clearly and tell me 'this is good' or 'this is bad.' I like him a lot because he is close to every player."

West Ham United will take on Watford at the London Stadium on Saturday, September 10 with kick-off at 3pm BST. 

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.