Rice has huge Hammers hopes

Declan Rice has laid down the Champions League gauntlet to West Ham ahead of the second half of the season.

The Hammers head into the January transfer window sitting one point behind Arsenal in fourth place and with David Moyes desperate to strengthen the squad with a new striker and a new centre-back.

And Rice is targeting a top-four finish as the Hammers look to finish the season strongly and aim to go one better than last season and actually reach the Champions League.

The England star believes that the squad is more than good enough to get into the top four, potentially along with the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea, who all currently look above the rest of the competition.

There is likely to be a four-way race for fourth, with the Hammers, Spurs, Arsenal, and Manchester United all battling it out for the final qualifying spot.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Rice said: “I feel like we can achieve good things. We want the Champions League, that’s what everybody wants. I feel like top six is more of a bigger aim for us. 

“We’ve gone for everything. We’ve rotated the squad as much as we can. There are so many positives to take and if we really look towards the European games coming up, when we’ll probably play a big side, I feel like we can really go far.

“We’re fifth in the league at the moment, we’re flying, and we’re into the knock-out rounds of the Europa League. There are lots of positives and every time we play at home, we can feel that presence from the fans. We love playing in front of them.

“There’s no limits to what we can do. We just need to stick together, keep doing what we do best and see where the season takes us.”