Declan Rice has promised some special Thursday nights next season after West Ham qualified for the Europa League.
The Hammers beat Southampton 3-0 to hold off London rivals Tottenham in the race for sixth place, to the delight of England international Rice.
“We’ll go and play anyone,” said Rice. “Thursday nights here next season, it is going to be massive, so let’s build on it.
“It has been an unbelievable effort from everyone.
“Everyone has played their part. We were so close to the Champions League.
“It was great to cap off such a fantastic season. Obviously Spurs won, but we got one over them again!”
Today was special. Goodnight, Hammers! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gdl4di4vsU— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 23, 2021
Rice scored West Ham’s third goal, after a double from Pablo Fornals, to put the icing on a memorable campaign for the midfielder.
The 22-year-old has captained David Moyes’ side all season as well as establishing himself as a regular for the Three Lions.
“It has been amazing to captain the team this season and we’ve got many more good moments to come,” he told the club website.
“It is unbelievable, the gaffer has been top. Everyone has played their part, working day in, day out.”
Reports surfaced over the weekend linking Rice with a move to Chelsea again.
But Hammers boss Moyes insists his star man is going nowhere, and that owners David Sullivan and David Gold agree.
“I don’t think David Sullivan, David Gold or myself have any intention of losing Declan Rice,” he said.
“We have just qualified for Europe, I think it is a brilliant achievement and Declan is a big part of that and we want him to be a big part of what we do next year as well.”
Southampton ended an underwhelming season in 15th and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has vowed to shake things up over the summer.
He said: “When you want to achieve more than staying safe in the league – and this is what we managed this season – then you have to change a lot because otherwise I don’t see why we should end up higher in the league, to be honest.”
