It was nice to have a break but now we get back down to it

9:35am Thursday 31st January 2008

IT was nice to have a bit of a rest at the weekend but I for one would certainly have liked to have still been in the cup.

But we're all refreshed and now looking forward to getting really stuck into it again.

Wigan will no doubt be a tough game - every game in the Premier League is tough. There are no easy rides, so we'll have to be at our best.

Sometimes in the second half of the season, with no cup competition to play for, clubs can slip away in the league.

As quick as you are up there, you can be down the bottom in a relegation scrap - but there is no danger of us doing that because of the experience of last year.

We know what it is like to be in a relegation fight. It was tough and we definately don't want to be in another one While its difficult to say how far we can go this season, we believe we have a good chance of catching some of the teams directly above us.

Its a bit early to say what the target is but if we can make Europe come the end of the season then it would have been a good season. But we will just keep trying to win as many games as possible.

The new England boss picks his first squad soon and it is something that sparks the interest, but for me I just want to keep playing my football for West Ham.

If I was to get into the squad, if and when that is, then I would be over the moon.

I think every Premier League match is covered by Fabio Capello or somebody connected to him, and that is an extra incentive but I just need to let my football do the talking.

It is always encouraging knowing that I'm at a football club which has bred international stars. A lot of players in the recent squad have come through the West Ham Academy.

And it is not a lot different now. We have a good English spine throughout the West Ham team, and a lot of talented youngsters yet to break in, and there is no reason what that can't be transferred into the England set up.