Mikey’s heart warming gesture proves a point

By Simon Leyland

It does not take the brains of Stephen Fry to tell you that the bedrock of a successful side is an abundance of team spirit.

Since the departure if Mark Noble, things have not been the same.

There have been few grumbles from our players this season, hardly surprising due to the way the season has gone thus far.

One of the big voices in the West Ham changing room – by his own admission – is Antonio.

Obviously unhappy with his form and losing his place to Gianluca Scamacca he even said he could look to leave West Ham in January as a result.

So the arrival of Ings from Aston Villa provided even more competition for Antonio – who has been used to going unchallenged for his place in the team under Moyes.

Our supremo finally gave Ings his first start in the 4-0 win over Forest on Saturday with Antonio dropping to the bench.

He responded by scoring a brace and Antonio responded to his critics by also scoring when he came on as a second half substitute.

But it was Antonio’s reaction to Ings getting his first West Ham goals that was heart warming. Antonio had been warming up on the touchline and ran then over to celebrate both goals with Ings.

It’s a small gesture but one which suggests the team spirit is still strong at West Ham and Antonio is not sulking but being a real team player.

Fair play Mikey !