West Ham vice-captain and England midfielder Declan Rice has spoken of his determination to continue improving as a player and to help our club reach the dream goal of Champions League football.

It has been an incredible period for our Hammers, having finished 6th last season thus qualifying for the Europa League, reaching the last 16 round of the European tournament and now currently sitting 5th being 1 point of 4th spot with over half the season played.

Rice has been a glowing light in this fantastic time for West Ham United but he is certainly not resting on his laurels, as he has spoken to the drive to keep going as a team and to achieve further success.

“I feel like we can achieve good things. We want the Champions League, that’s what everybody wants. I feel like top six is more of a bigger aim for us.

“We’ve gone for everything. We’ve rotated the squad as much as we can. There are so many positives to take and if we really look towards the European games coming up, when we’ll probably play a big side, I feel like we can really go far.

“We’re fifth in the league at the moment, we’re flying, and we’re into the knock-out rounds of the Europa League. There are lots of positives and every time we play at home, we can feel that presence from the fans. We love playing in front of them.

“There’s no limits to what we can do. We just need to stick together, keep doing what we do best and see where the season takes us.”

Rice has talked about the desire within not just him but the squad as a whole, which take criticism on the chin and use it to improve upon.

“We can take criticism. If you can’t give it out and take it you’re not going to learn. Even me, I like to be told because it keeps you on your toes.

“The biggest thing I’m doing is learning in-game. Against top opposition and top players I’m always learning and looking at how they play, seeing what they do.

“I always watch my clips back, looking at what I can improve, speaking to the assistants, speaking to the manager.

“On the training pitch, I’m just trying to improve, to test myself against the players in training and trying different things. Just chipping away at a load of stuff, that’s the best way you can get 100 per cent out of yourself.”