David Gold has sent his best to Michail Antonio ahead of tomorrow’s Word Cup quaifier against Malta.
Talking to the official site the co chairman says: “This is another fantastic opportunity for him and the key for him now is to keep getting selected in the squad and eventually his chance will come.
There is a new man in charge and I am sure that Michail will be keen to impress him and show the form which has made him such a star performer in the opening part of the season.
You wonder where we would be without his five goals this season and he is getting stronger and a major threat to the opposition. There is no reason why he cannot show the same kind of form for England.
The best stat you can look for in a player is the number of goals you score in a season. It catches the eye of the national manager and gets you an England call-up.
Michail also has a great personality and you may have seen the stories in the national press about him driving 135 miles to present his West Ham shirt at a charity event in Birmingham to help with an auction for neonatal units across the region.
That typifies what Michail is about and it became very evident when I first met him that he is a caring person.
He never forgets his upbringing and recently went back to his secondary school to meet up with his former teachers and share his experiences with the current students.
I still remember the early part of his career when he couldn’t get into the team at West Ham and I told him that his time would come. He has now done that and is now in the England squad.
He has had a great upbringing progressing through the ranks from non-league and fighting every inch of the way. It is a tough learning curve and all about character building.
Michail is one of many players who are away on international duty and I wish the best of luck to all of our players who are representing their countries over the next few days.
I want internationals playing for our football club and I hope they come back injury free.”