Jose Fonte spoke of his excitement ahead of West Ham's opening Premier League game against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, believing that the club's new signings can help achieve a much better finish than last season.
Fonte pleased with summer recruits amid start of new season
"It's been amazing," said Fonte in response to questions over West Ham's summer transfer business. The club have brought in a number of high profile players including Chicharito, Marko Arnautovic, Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta.
"I think the club has done a fantastic job, bring in this quality, this type of player. We should be excited, the players are excited, there's a buzz around the training ground, I know the fans are excited - they should be."
“We’re looking forward to the season because it could be a great one. I’m sure, together with the fans, the staff and the players, we can achieve something great this year and it’s up to us to work hard and to believe that we can be successful.
“When you bring in players who have won trophies, we have five, six, seven, eight players now who have won stuff, we all want to get them trophies. We are winners, everyone here wants to win," he continued.
“We’re not here to achieve safety or to just have an average season, we want to win and that’s how it has to be. I’m sure that the fans can be positive and we will be giving 120 per cent this year."
Hammers set for tough test with a trip to Old Trafford
Fonte was quick to point out that his team will need to be at the top of their game to get any kind of result against Manchester United this weekend. Jose Mourinho's side have done equally impressive business, bringing in Everton's Romelu Lukaku following Ibrahimovic's departure at the end of last season.
"It's going to be tough," Fonte said. "The quality that Manchester United have, the great manager they have, it's going to be tough but we have been preparing all week, we're excited, we're eager to play that game to see where we are."
“Obviously were still missing a few players but that shows the strength of the squad – although we’re missing some players we still have the quality to go there and do something good.
“We have enough experience in the team to not be intimidated anywhere, we relish this kind of atmosphere to compete against the best."
"For us it’s just another game, a game we look forward to – these are the kind of games players want to play," Fonte concluded.
West Ham will be looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow Premier League teams Watford and Burnley, both of whom secured impressive wins against Liverpool and Chelsea respectively.