Antonio must hit hard for Hammers

Antonio must hit hard for Hammers

West Ham United’s hopes of success in tomorrow night’s Europa Conference League final depends on the form of several key players, most notably Lucas Paqueta and Declan Rice in midfield and the Jamaica international Michail Antonio in attack.

The Hammers face Fiorentina in Prague with Antonio already West Ham’s all-time leading scorer in European football with nine goals.

He is used to big pressure moments because it was do-or-die for him in the early stages of his career during trial matches at non-league level when his whole future was on the line.

The 33-year-old, who was born in London, has been on a remarkable journey from non-league Tooting & Mitcham to becoming just 90 minutes away from writing his name into West Ham folklore.

Antonio is already West Ham’s all-time record scorer in the Premier League with 61 goals after he overtook Paolo Di Canio two years ago.

“When I heard that I got close to it, I was like ‘Now, I have to beat it’. But, now, obviously, I’m at the top, and I want to score more goals to make it more difficult for someone to catch me,” he says.