West Ham United youngster Josh Cullen says he is ready to step-up and help the Hammers in their fight against relegation following his return to the club.

Cullen spent the first half of the season on-loan with Bolton Wanderers, and has been in-and-around the first since returning to the London Stadium in January.

The young midfielder has yet to make an appearance in the Premier League for David Moyes’ side however, with all of his three games since his return coming in the FA Cup.

However after being named in Moyes’ match-day squad for six of the last seven games, Cullen is hopeful it won’t be long until he gets the nod in the top flight.

“It’s been great to be back. Obviously being out on loan at Bolton for the first half of the season was more valuable experience for me, playing in the Championship and getting some more games under my belt and developing as a player for a further six months.” he said.

“There was a change in manager, so I was keen to come back here and show the new manager what I was all about and try and impress him, so I came back and played in a few games and have been back in the mix. Hopefully I’ve done enough to show him I have a future at the Club.

“I did enough to warrant staying on for the rest of the season, which I’m doing now, and hopefully I can push on again and try to push from being on the bench and in the squad to being in the team and getting some appearances before the end of the season.”

The Irishman, a life-long West Ham supporter – although confident he will get his chance in Claret and Blue, knows the competition he faces for a place in the Hammers’ midfield and says he is willing to patient for his opportunity to arise.

Cullen continued: “Going up against those players is a great challenge for me and hopefully I can push them and create some healthy competition, and that they know I’m here and pushing for a first team spot. It will also push me on as I know I have to be even better to get into the team, so it’s good to have that competition around.

“I’ve just got to stay patient, keep doing what I am doing in training, keep working and when the manager calls upon me, make sure I’m ready, I do myself justice when I go out there and do as well as I know I can.”