I want to be a Rolls-royce like Vieira or Yaya EXCLUSIVE
DECLAN RICE
DECLAN RICE wants to be the best... and two Premier League midfield generals inspire him.
The West Ham star, 22, is in fine form and his 27 Premier League appearances this term have pushed the Hammer into a shock top-four position.
His consistency has also been rewarded with an England call-up for World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland this month.
Rice says that he is using former Arsenal general Patrick
Vieira (right, above) and ex-manchester
City powerhouse Yaya Toure (right, below) as his role models.
He said: “Fans see me as a ‘hold the midfield’ player that breaks the play up and keeps it simple.
“I want to show now that it’s not only just that – I’ve upped my game. I’m athletic, strong and I can run forward with the ball.
“If you look at people that I model myself on – Yaya Toure and Vieira are probably two of the best players that used to do it.
“You know, they looked like Rolls-royces then and so pleasing on the eye.
“It’s something I can keep adding to my game and keep getting better at.”
Rice has formed a formidable partnership with Tomas Soucek.
The Czech international was signed permanently from Slavia Prague for £19million in the summer and has been a revelation for David Moyes’ side. Rice insists the 26-year-old is the perfect foil for him in the Hammers engine room.
He added: “We give it everything when we’re out there. Tomas is fantastic to play with, he gives everything. Like me, he’s strong, athletic and also great in the air.
“Defensively, he’s solid. He gets in the box and scores goals. So Tomas has got everything you want from a footballer.
“We’ve got a great understanding – he knows my game and I know his. When we’re going into matches, we always feel like we’re coming out on top and we need to keep that confidence going.
“Tomas is non-stop, he’s always covering the most distance in the team. On a match day, you know he’s always got the best running stats.
“We come in after a game, then he’s running again on the pitch, doing a cool down.
Just the ultimate pro.
“That’s what we want at this club – great people and great players.”