By Louis Nixon

Ollie Scarles was hounded by fans over his dismal mistake against Fulham, but since that moment, he’s proved why he belongs in the starting squad. 

Malick Diouf was the starting left back for the Hammers after Ollie Scarles suffered a nasty Shoulder injury against Leeds, which saw him out on the sidelines for around three months, but with Diouf departing to AFCON, it gave him a significant chance to show himself and show all the fans what he was made of. 

Bad times came along as Scarles made a horrific error against Fulham, which resulted in the West London side winning the match, but in fairness to the fans and Nuno, we both still applauded Scarles, and since that moment he appears to have stepped up his game enormously and had another superb performance against Sunderland. 

The young Englishman started ahead of Malick Diouf, who had only just returned from winning AFCON and it was a good decision to give him a bit of a rest. Scarles started on the left-hand side and not only in recent weeks has he appeared to gel with Summerville, but he also has excelled his game enormously, the comeback kid! Against Sunderland, he linked up very well with Summerville on the left-hand side and also managed to win a penalty for the Hammers, in which Bowen managed to convert. 

A splendid performance from him and he should certainly be happy with himself. I suspect in the upcoming future that he and Diouf will both rotate for one another, one will start and run their heart out and depending on the context of the game, the other will come on bursting with energy for the remaining time. 

One way or another, it’s nice to have two wingbacks to choose from, and it’s brilliant to see them both succeed. 

From being down and out and emotionally distraught, walking down the tunnel to cheers and smiles of playing a significant part in helping your side three points, it goes to show how quickly things can change in Football.