Sakho looking to develop Valencia partnership

West Ham’s Diafra Sakho is eager to develop his strike partnership with fellow new arrival Enner Valencia.

Manager Sam Allardyce came in for criticism last season for what some fans perceived to be a negative style of play, and the London club have attempted to implement a more attacking brand of football in 2014-15.

That philosophy has been underlined by the signings of the likes of Sakho and Valencia, and the pair have hit the ground running in the early weeks of the campaign.

Sakho, in particular, has been in good goalscoring form, netting three times in four appearances in all competitions, while Valencia claimed his first West Ham goal with a stunning strike in last week’s 2-2 draw at Hull City.

And Senegal forward Sakho believes his relationship with Valencia can continue to be a profitable one for the team.

“We’ve trained together for a short while now,” he told the club’s official website. “Enner’s a footballer who likes to get it down and play, and me, I like to come deep.

“I try to position myself in relation to him and vice versa. I hope that’s going to continue to serve the club well this season.

“We certainly hope [to improve] and we’re working every day in training for that. We’re not going to relax and we’ll carry on working hard at it, because it’s only the beginning of the season and there will be plenty of matches to play together.”

Sakho found the net with a delightful chip from a wide position in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Liverpool at Upton Park, and the 24-year-old insisted that the effort had been intentional.

“I saw the keeper off his line, at the near post, and I only had one thing in mind,” he said.

“I tried it and it came off. I wasn’t sure if it was going to go in or not, but thankfully it’s ended up in the net. I’m pleased, pleased for me and for the team.”