Ben Johnson says he is loving the opportunity to play in different positions but understands that the whole squad must improve against Nottingham Forest.

It once looked like Ben Johnson’s time at West Ham was coming to an end. Until recently he was struggling to even get into the matchday squad and had been playing for the U21s. In recent weeks, he has had a bit of a resurgence with some impressive performances.

Surprisingly though, none of these have been in his native position playing on both wings and in midfield. To Johnson though, this comes naturally. “It was right-wing against Manchester United, and left-wing against Arsenal,” he told WHUFC.com. “That’s what I want though, because you want to challenge yourself against the best players and I think a lot of people have the perspective of playing in many positions as a negative, but it is what I did in the Academy.”

“I played centre-mid, defence, and on the wing for the U18s and U21s and I think playing in multiple positions it makes you want to learn them all and gives you confidence that you have that trust to perform in different roles.”

Despite being one of the better players against Arsenal, the 24 year old knows that West Ham must improve against Nottingham Forest and get a result to make up for the 6-0 thrashing.

“We want to be on the good end of a big result,” he explained. “Maybe, the Arsenal game will be that spark that we needed to push on and see where we can go. There have been seasons where we want to get to 40 points but we’re almost there so it’s about where can we go now.”

“We have to look at the positives from the season so far and go to Nottingham Forest and get a result. We have to do everything we can to do that and leave no stone unturned with our performance.”