Nicky Maynard shows off his new West Ham shirt

New signing wants to make his debut against Millwall

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West Ham’s newest recruit Nicky Maynard is keen to get in the thick of the action with the Hammers as soon as possible following his move from Championship rivals Bristol City.

The 25-year-old completed his transfer to Upton Park late on Tuesday night for a fee rumoured to be around the £1.65million mark, and is keen to prove he has what it takes to help fire the Hammers back into the Premier League.

“I’m ecstatic,” he said. “It was a long day but I’m delighted to put pen to paper and can’t wait to get going.

“West Ham are a massive club. They’ve got everything geared to get to the Premier League and the Premier League is where I want to be.

“I want to get West Ham to the Premier League and get a few goals under my belt and get off to a quick start and then hopefully once I’ve settled in, next season I can do better than I’m going to do this season.”

The forward, who scored 45 goals for Bristol City in 125 appearances, signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with an option of a further year at Upton Park and revealed he felt it was time to move on from Ashton Gate.

“I enjoyed my time at Bristol City but the opportunity to move to a massive club like West Ham, who are destined for the Premier League, was too good to turn down,” he said.

When asked what type of forward he is, Maynard’s reply is simple. One that likes to score goals and works hard for them.

“I’m a quick player who likes to get in behind and thrives off chances,” he said. “I’m not happy when I’m not scoring goals so I’m one of those players that keeps plugging away all game.

“I’ve enjoyed a good spell in the Championship and like any striker I thrive off chances created and West Ham are one of the clubs that create chances in games.”

And the former Crewe frontman is keen to be involved this Saturday lunchtime, when the Hammers take on arch-rivals Millwall at Upton Park.

“Hopefully I’ll be involved,” he said. “The sooner the better for me. I can get to know the lads and get to play in front of the West Ham faithful.

“Millwall is my ideal game to get involved and we’ll take it from there.

“I’ve played Millwall twice this season and I’ve managed to get three goals so another couple of goals on Saturday would be an added bonus.”