West Ham midfielder Declan Rice reveals ‘shock’ 2021 success
West Ham and England midfielder Declan Rice has spoken to the Daily Mail regarding his best moments of 2021 claiming there are ‘no limits’ for him.
What a year it was for the Londoner, playing a key part in England’s European Championship surge to the final, just missing out on penalties as well as going from strength to strength with the Hammers.
However, Rice isn’t resting on his laurels. Whilst highlighting his successes the West Ham captain continuously reminded himself, he has so much more to give.
“Everything I’ve done this year has been like a vision, things I wanted to do. To actually get there and do those things is really special. I couldn’t honestly sit here and say I would have believed I have done half the stuff I have done in 2021.
“It’s come as a shock, well not a shock but a bit of a surprise really. There are no limits to where I can go. If I keep working hard and keep giving it everything then hopefully I can have more memorable achievements and big moments in my career.”
He added: “Probably after the summer, after I played in the final and got a lot of praise,’ says Rice. ‘I thought if I can do this on a European stage with no nerves then I can do it easily in the Premier League.
“The first game at Newcastle. We were 2-1 down at half-time, and I’d only had two weeks of pre-season and played one game. I was a bit rusty and I remember second-half just taking off. I felt unstoppable. Doing things with the ball, dribbling past players, starting attacks, running past people.
“It felt like everything fell into place. What I had done in the final, it felt like it just clicked in that first game at Newcastle and I just felt from there that if I carry on like this I don’t feel that anyone, when I am on the game, can stop me when I run past people and show my strength.”
Legend
What Rice is offering this West Ham team is synonymous with Hammers legend Bobby Moore. The last time an English or any Irons player had this much hype and delivered so prolifically on the international stage would have been Moore in 1966.
The rise in Rice’s performance has been nothing short of remarkable and long may it continue, as expectedly it will.
As young as 22, the boy from Kingston upon Thames has been able to fill West Ham fans with so much joy and hopefully this is just the start of things to come.
The Irons having renowned star players across the globe and even in the Premier League can unfortunately be rare so savour every minute of Rice in claret and blue.
If he isn’t already, West Ham have a future legend on their hands and the type of character Rice has could be an indicator to a long and loving relationship between player and fans – even if he does eventually leave.
In other Hammers news, David Moyes admits West Ham players feel ‘neglected’ with fixture build up.