Andy Irving makes honest admission about West Ham move, lifts lid on the lengths he’s gone to in order to change. Andy Irving has already established himself as a cult hero amongst the West Ham United fans.
Incredibly, Andy Irving had to wait until Monday before he made his competitive first start for West Ham – a full 18 months after he moved to the London Stadium. The 7 WORST Football Club Rebrands
David Moyes brought the 24-year-old midfielder to the London Stadium from from SK Austria Klagenfurt on transfer deadline day in the summer of 2023, and then immediately loaned him back to the Austrian club.
There were rumours floating around in January that he could be sold.
However, Graham Potter is obviously a fan of Irving, and decided against letting him leave the club in the January window. Whilst I’m still not sold on Irving’s quality, and doubt that he has what it takes to make it at the very highest level, his attitude and work-rate cannot be faulted.
The Hammers fans sang Irving’s name throughout the entire game against Chelsea.
So he will already know just how appreciated he is. Andy Irving makes honest admission about West Ham move
Potter has clearly laid down the gauntlet to the Scot.
If he puts in the effort during training sessions, he will definitely be given a chance by the Hammers head coach.
Irving didn’t let anyone down with his solid performance against Chelsea. However, he admitted after the game that growing accustomed to the intensity of Premier League football has been an incredibly difficult challenge, as quoted by WHUFC.com:
“It definitely takes time to adapt [to the Premier League], but I think I’ve had enough tasters of that so far this season to get a grip of it, and I feel that I handled it pretty well for 75 minutes just before I went off as I had a little knock.
“In terms of the intensity, it’s mad to be honest, the intensity and the physical output that you have to put in, but I’m working like mad in the gym three or four times with Cal (fitness coach Callum Foster) a week to try and adapt to it. I’m just delighted with the opportunity.
That’s so encouraging to hear.
Irving might not be the most talented of players, but he is clearly ready to put in the hard yards in order to improve.
Whether or not he remains at the London Stadium in the long-term remains to be seen.
However, if Andy Irving doesn’t make it with West Ham, it won’t be through the lack of trying.
West Ham striker Niclas Fullkrug looked set to miss most of the rest of the season with an injury but he might be returning sooner.
Niclas Fullkrug was ruled out for up to three months when he suffered a hamstring injury in West Ham’s FA Cup defeat at Aston Villa.
The blow was extremely disappointing for West Ham and the German, especially coming in Graham Potter’s first game at the helm.
And not least because, having just recently returned from three months out injured, Fullkrug was starting to show what he can do.
It was his excellent hold-up play which set West Ham on their way to going 1-0
