Ryan Fredericks is beginning to feel at home in the Premier League.The unlucky defender had the toughest of players to get past in Zaba to gain his place in the Hammers squad before being struck down with injury.
But the summer free signing from Fulham has grabbed his chance in a big way over recent games notably against Manchester City and the Cottagers when he headed the ClaretandHugh fans’ player ratings.
His athleticism was a serious bonus down the right side and defensively he was bang on the case. With Zaba now approaching the twilight of his career the 26 year old currently looks and ideal replacement.
As with most new arrivals there were those who didn’t believe he was the ideal player for the job but his value is now being shown in a big way and the man himself is clearly very pleased with his level of performance.
Speaking to the official site he said: ” Spirits are high at the moment, we’re playing good stuff, we’ve got most of our team back and we’ve still got a lot of quality to come back as well, so we’re a confident bunch.“It took a while for me to get used to the Premier League. At the start, I was probably more thinking about going on the pitch and not making any mistakes and that was causing me not to play my normal game.
“Since I’ve come back from injury and into the team, I’ve felt more confident on the pitch and more confident around the lads and I know what the gaffer wants from me. I’ve been going out on the pitch with no fear and the results are coming, which is nice.
“It’s quite a big switch from the way I played with my former team last season and the way the manager here wants us to play, but it’s firmly instilled in me know and things are happening instinctively and that’s why my performances have been better lately.”