Michail Antonio heard what some West Ham fans said about him and disagrees

Michail Antonio has revealed he has heard what some West Ham fans have been saying about him and believes he is proving them wrong.

It has felt a bit like Groundhog Day for West Ham fans when it comes to their striker options.

No matter which way the Hammers turn to find a top striker for the long-term, every season seems to start and end with Michail Antonio leading the line.

Almost £100m was spent on Sebastien Haller, Gianluca Scamacca and Danny Ings in recent years.

Yet it is always Antonio who emerges as West Ham’s starting striker one way or another.

The latest to try and succeed the Jamaican is proven international striker Niclas Fullkrug.

Yet here West Ham are relying, yet again, on 34-year-old Antonio.

Julen Lopetegui baffled fans by making Antonio West Ham’s starting striker this season despite the signing of Fullkrug.

That’s despite the German’s insistence that he needs to train every day and play week in, week out to stave off injuries which have blighted his career.

It was somewhat inevitable then that, after three Premier League games on the bench, Fullkrug picked up an injury.

One that has seen him miss the last five matches. With no definitive return date after the international break due to the nature of the Achilles and calf issue.

Antonio heard what some West Ham fans said about him

Despite a string of poor performances, the Jamaican kept his place almost by default.

It has frustrated many Hammers supporters, giving them ammunition to criticise the club for failing to sign the young, dynamic striker they craved in the summer – Jhon Duran.

Jamie Carragher recently stated that West Ham fans always want someone better than Antonio.

But the pundit believes the club will struggle to ever find a striker who brings more to the team than him as a replacement.

So much so Carragher claims Antonio should be West Ham’s starting striker every week.

Well he started again when Ipswich came to town in a must-win game.

And he stepped up to score within one minute and on his first touch. It was another bit of history for the man who turns 35 in March as it was West Ham’s fastest ever goal at the London Stadium.

It was also the forward’s first of the season.

The strike adds to a list of noteworthy goals he has scored during his time at West Ham.

The list includes a goal in the last ever game at Upton Park, the first at the London Stadium, the first for an opposing team at the new home of bitter rivals Spurs and becoming the club’s record Premier League goalscorer.

Now Antonio has revealed he has heard what some West Ham fans have been saying about him but believes he has proved them wrong.

Antonio is well loved at West Ham.

Antonio thinks he’s proving Hammers fans wrong over his age

But in the eyes of most, he is something of a spent force at Premier League level and is too old to be starting every week. Especially if the Irons have designs on qualifying for Europe.

Last week he brought up another new record by becoming the first Hammer to register 100 goals and assists in the Premier League era.

Antonio has noted what some fans have been saying about him, though. He has revealed he has heard the talk that he is too old. And he disagrees, believing his performances continue to prove people wrong.

So much so he has no plans on winding down his career anytime soon.

“I just want to break as many records as I can!” Antonio said on West Ham’s website.

“Some people talk about my age, but it’s just a number and I think I’m showing that.

“Hopefully I can keep pushing on, and keep going for a long time.

“It was a much better performance. We’d seen lots of positives and negatives in the previous games, but we’ve been learning a new way to play and things take time.”

Star shouldn’t be getting too carried away

One swallow does not make a summer, nor one fine day.

Well it helped make a fine day as the Hammers ran out 4-1 winners against Ipswich.

But Antonio should not get too carried away.

A record of one goal in seven games is nowhere near good enough for a striker in a team aiming to qualify for Europe.

He’ll need to more than halve that ratio if West Ham are to have any chance of achieving that.

If Antonio ends the season with 10-15 goals it will have been an excellent campaign.

That’s around one every three.

Lopetegui will be hoping the strike can give him confidence to go on a run now.