New Hammers midfielder says moving to the club was a no-brainer

West Ham’s latest signing Matt Taylor has revealed that it was an easy decision to drop down to the Championship to play for the Hammers.

The versatile midfielder’s move to Upton Park was only confirmed on Saturday, but after one day of training with his new team-mates Taylor started Tuesday night’s 1-0 pre-season friendly win against Dagenham & Redbridge.

“It was good to play and good to win,” said Taylor after the game.

“It’s good to train but ultimately you get your match sharpness from playing games, so I was happy to be involved for 60 minutes.”

The former Bolton midfielder revealed that he felt physically fit before the game, having been on the Trotters’ pre-season tour to the USA.

“My fitness is fine,” he said.

“We did a lot of running, training and hard work with Bolton, so I’ve come here in good condition.

“I’m feeling good and it is onwards and upwards.”

Taylor also admits he had no hesistations at all when deciding to join the Hammers.

“It was an easy decision,” he said.

“It was a football decision and I thrive on playing football and that’s what I’m in it for to be brutally honest.

“Obviously I’m a southern lad so it was nice to come closer to home, nearer to the family.

“I’ve got children so it is important for them to spend time with grandparents and things.

“So it was an easy decision football wise and there wasn’t really anything that I needed to be persuaded into, to be quite frank with you.”

Taylor also revealed that in the short time he has been at the club, he has been impressed with what he has seen and the players that manager Sam Allardyce has brought in to improve the Hammers’ squad.

“There is a lot of good quality here,” he said.

“What people forget is that West Ham is a massive football club.

“I’ve played against West Ham in the past and the ground, facilities and everything about the club is huge and you forget that.

“And when you come and play for them, the fans are exceptional.

“They were great tonight, it was a good atmosphere and almost like a home game.

“But the club itself, regardless of anything else that goes with it, is a huge one and it is an honour for me to come and play here, and Big Sam was obviously an influence for me as well.

The 29-year-old former Portsmouth player believes that his side are in for a tough year, despite being one of the bookmakers’ favourites to be promoted from the Championship.

“It’s going to be a difficult year,” he said.

“We need to score enough goals and win enough games to get promoted, there is nothing else to it.

“I believe that we have a good chance of doing it, though obviously we’ve got to perform on the pitch.

“But I’ve come here and I honestly believe that the team have got enough to get back into the Premier League, because that is where the club belongs, this is not really a Championship club.

“That is not detrimental to any other teams in the league, that is just my belief.”

West Ham fans will remember Taylor from his trademark free-kicks and the midfielder is keen to score as many goals as he can for the Hammers.

“It would be nice to get my first goal for the club and get off the mark,” he said.

“Hopefully that will be sooner than later.”