The reluctance to bring in a new striker to back-up Mikey Antonio is pleasing no West Ham fan …or indeed the No 9 himself.

David Moyes has made it clear that Mikey is a spark which sets fire to the whole team and that at his best he is irreplaceable in the squad.

There have been arguments that it will be hard to find a striker to sit on the bench when the player is in great form but that’s not an argument that goes down well with Antonio himself.

The honest 32 year old has made it clear that he – like the rest of us – would sooner see a player brought in as competition to him.

Like any player he needs competition to remain at his best and being the honest guy he is hasn’t been shy in admitting it

He has been speaking to Standard Sport and, quoted per Hammers News, says: ”I’m a person where I want a challenge, I want someone to be there pushing me and make sure I am doing the right things

“The time I went nine games without scoring a goal, maybe someone could have stepped in and given me that little push so that I could hit the back of the net.

“I am not a person that would shy away from a challenge. I would definitely embrace someone coming in, I’d embrace the competition.”