West Ham United’s Spanish goalkeeper Adrian is looking to build upon a run of four successive clean sheets, and help his side maintain their current good form.
The Hammers shot stopper has impressed since coming into the side last month, and gained the man of the match award in the 2-0 win at home to Norwich City on Tuesday Evening.
He ha also kept clean sheets against Aston Villa, Swansea and Cardiff City, as the Hammers won 2-0 in all three fixtures to charge up the Premier League table, were they currently sit 10th.
The keeper also starred in the recent 0-0 draw away at London rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, after denying several goal bound efforts.
Adrian, who signed from La Liga side Real Betis in the summer, took over the gloves from Finnish veteran keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, who was dropped following some un-convincing performaces for a then struggling Hammers.
The Spaniard now looks set to be the first choice at the club under Allardyce, after successfully fending off competition from 38 year old Jaaskelainen.
His performances at the Boleyn Ground have certainly made him a real fan favourite at the Hammers.
Sam Allardyce’s side have the most clean sheets in the Premier League and Adrian is optimistic of holding onto that record on the back of their recent form.
“It’s only my job! It’s my job to stop everything and Tuesday was a great day, because that’s another clean sheet,” he told West Ham’s official website.
“Four in a row is really, really difficult in the Premier League and I am really happy. We have to keep going in this direction.
“As a goalkeeper, when you have confidence, confidence in the manager and in the other players, you are happy on the pitch.
“Sometimes I have to help my team-mates and other times, not too much, but on Tuesday I made three or four saves to help the team.
“It’s really, really amazing. The clean sheets are important for the team and it’s even more important for me, because I’m the goalkeeper.
“I work every day with Marge [Martyn Margetson, goalkeeping coach], Jussi [Jaaskelainen], with Rafa [Raphael Spiegel], with Hendo [Stephen Henderson] on the training ground for that and this is my job.”
The Hammers sit in a lofty 10th place following Tuesday’s emphatic win, and host Southampton in ten days time.
By Ben Reardon
@BenReardon1
