West Ham United defender James Tomkins cannot wait to lead the team out at the club’s sell-out Europa League tie on Thursday.

West Ham take on FC Lusitans in the first leg of the Europa League first qualifying round tomorrow, and academy graduate Tomkins told the Hammers website of his delight at being named skipper for the occasion.

“I’m hugely excited, as playing in Europe is massive,” Tomkins explained. “We all want to play on the top stage, playing against teams from different countries, different cultures, it can only improve you as a player and develop you, so we are all really excited, for the youngster it’s an opportunity.

“There are 35,000 people coming to the match. Not many other teams would sell that many tickets for a Europa League game.

“It’s a cliché but we are taking each game as it comes. This is the Europa League and is a competition we want to do well in. We are looking forward to Thursday, to starting the season well.

“This is the last season at Upton Park, so we want to send it off in the best way possible and the Europa League is the start of it.”

Tomkins also accentuated the benefits the tie will provide for both the senior players and the youngsters.

He said: “It’s definitely a bonus to be getting that competitiveness so early in year. To have a team which is a mix between seniors and youngsters is brilliant for the lads.

“For the youngsters to play in such a big game is massive for their development. Us seniors will try to help them along, as it’s brilliant to play in these kind of matches.”

The likes of Diafra Sakho and Mauro Zarate, as well as a selection of youth players, will play alongside Tomkins in tomorrow’s game, which kicks off at 7.45pm.