Friday, March 29, 2024

Tomkins eyes West Ham recall

SoccerNews in English Premier League 26 Aug 2015

73 Views

James Tomkins said he is keen to regain a spot in West Ham’s starting XI, after a turbulent start to the defender’s campaign.

Tomkins, 26, started in West Ham’s 2-0 win at Arsenal on the opening weekend, but was omitted by coach Slaven Bilic in Premier League losses to Leicester City and Bournemouth.

The former England Under-21 representative was deployed as a first-half substitute in the 4-3 loss at home to Bournemouth on Saturday, with Angelo Ogbonna seemingly withdrawn without an injury – while right-back Carl Jenkinson was later sent off.

Tomkins started at right-back against Arsenal, but replaced Ogbonna in the centre of defence.

With spots up for grabs, Tomkins – who twice scored in West Ham’s failed bid to qualify for the UEFA Europa League in July – said he is ready to reclaim his place in the XI for West Ham’s trip to Anfield to tackle an in-form Liverpool on Saturday.

“It’s disappointing going out of the team after going to the Emirates and getting a good victory,” Tomkins told West Ham’s website.

“Disappointing for me, but it’s all about showing what you can do on the training pitch, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do, trying to get the performances in when I can, and try and keep in the team. 

“To go in and out quite quickly takes a little knock-on effect, but I’m willing to fight for my position – I think it is obviously good for the team when you’ve got competition in areas, and I’m willing to fight for my position for sure. 

“It’s something I kind of strive on, really, because it [the challenge] tries to improve yourself, you’ve got to better yourself every time you go out on the training field so that’s what I’ll try to do.”

Tomkins came on with West Ham 2-0 down, and while the Upton Park hosts fought back to 2-2, they shipped two more goals in a poor performance.

The defender was naturally disappointed to concede so many times against last season’s Championship winners.

“The style that we lost was the most disappointing thing. No disrespect to Bournemouth, but we should really be beating teams like Bournemouth,” Tomkins lamented.

“It’s the whole aspect of conceding the four goals the way we did, the little sloppy errors that we made – it’s just all-round disappointment. But… it’s all behind us now, we need to move on as quickly as we can.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SoccerNews

Soccernews.com is news blog for soccer with comprehensive coverage of all the major leagues in Europe, as well as MLS in the United States. In addition we offer breaking news for transfers and transfer rumors, ticket sales, betting tips and offers, match previews, and in-depth editorials.

You can follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/soccernews.com or Twitter: @soccernewsfeed.

SHARE OR COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

WE RECOMMEND

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This field is required *

Join the conversation!

or Register

Live Scores

advertisement

Betting Guide Advertisement

advertisement

Become a Writer
More More
Top