West Ham's Michail Antonio hails 'magic' Dimitri Payet
Friday 18 March 2016 06:39, UK
Michail Antonio has hailed team-mate Dimitri Payet as 'magic' and targeted European qualification and an FA Cup win as West Ham look to finish the season in style.
The Hammers, who are unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions, currently sit fifth in the Premier League, two points adrift of the Manchester City in the race for Champions League qualification and have an FA Cup quarter-final replay against Manchester United to look forward to.
And Payet, who moved to Upton Park from Marseille last summer in a £10.75m deal, has been instrumental, scoring 11 times as the Irons enjoy one of their best seasons in years.
Antonio, speaking in an interview on Soccer Saturday, is not surprised by Payet's form, claiming the Frenchman has all the attributes needed to be a success in the Premier League.
"I can't even put into words how good this player is," Antonio said.
"He's got all the attributes you need to be a Premier League player. He works hard and going forward he's got that special touch.
"He's just one of those players, he's magic."
After a stuttering start to his West Ham career, Antonio, who also joined the club last summer, has been in impressive form in the Premier League, scoring three goals in his last three league games.
The 25-year-old thinks playing with players of the calibre of Payet, who signed a new contract with West Ham until 2021 last month, can only serve to improve him as a player.
"You get better by studying and playing with better players," Antonio added.
"Each day in training he does something special. I watch him all the time to see what he does and hopefully he can make me a better player."
Slaven Bilic's side could move into the top four with victory at Stamford Bridge on on Saturday but Antonio, who has scored seven goals in all competitions for West Ham so far this season, insists the Hammers are not looking too far ahead.
"We are not concentrating on the end," the forward said.
"We are not focusing on what we could get. We are concentrating on each game as it comes.
"We don't want to lose any games. We want to stay consistent, stay unbeaten and go into every game believing we can win it. Then hopefully we can get both."
West Ham move to the Olympic Stadium for the start of next season and Antonio thinks the move can inspire the club to even better things.
"We can definitely push on, especially with the move to the Olympic Stadium," Antonio added.
"Hopefully we can finish in the Europa League or the Champions League and then you never know.
"We can look to get some big signings in and we can push on to become a top four team."
Watch the full interview with Michail Antonio on Soccer Saturday from 12pm.
