Junior Stanislas has been tipped for a bright future after maturing as a player and a person.
Hammers youngster thanks Ferdinand for guidance
Junior Stanislas has been tipped for a bright future by Gianfranco Zola after maturing as a player and a person.
The West Ham winger has been regarded as an exciting prospect for some time now and he admits he paid too much attention to the hype when he was younger.
Stanislas, now 20, was advised to go on a trip to Kampala, Uganda, where Anton and Rio Ferdinand have a soccer school.
He is grateful to former Hammers-team-mate Anton for forcing him to examine his character.
"I had a reputation for being a bit moany, I thought I was already the man," Stanislas said in the
Daily Express.
"Anton thought it'd be a good idea for me to go over there and see how tough the boys have got it.
"It was quite something to see these lads - some of them really good players - just didn't have the opportunity I had."
Stanislas also spent time on loan with Southend last season and then came back to score a hat-trick for the reserves against Chelsea.
Manager Zola recalls his performance and is excited by the potential of the youngster, saying "The quality he put in that day impressed me,"
"His building of the action and his finishing was good. If he keeps progressing he's going to become a very important player in this country."
