Thomas Hitzlsperger has described his West Ham debut as a 'special day' in his career.
The German international, sidelined through injury for over seven months marked his first competitive appearance for the club with a goal of the season contender just 23 minutes into tonight's 5-1 FA Cup fifth round win over Burnley.And talking to ESPN after the game, Der Hammer admitted that he was both surprised and delighted with the welcome he received from the fans.
"I didn't know what to expect after such a long time out," he said. "The manager was speaking to me before the game about whether to let me play for 30 minutes or give me a start - and I'm just delighted to start off with a goal and a good win, an important win for us. Hopefully it gets us going and brings some confidence back to the camp as we've got some important games ahead of us.
"That [his reception] was fantastic - I didn't expect it really because I thought the fans must have forgotten about me but no, they didn't. When I came on to the pitch the reception was exceptional; it was a special day."
Hitzlsperger played for 67 minutes before being replaced by Pablo Barrera yet despite the difference in class between the two teams, he insisted that he and his team mates had survived a tough test - whilst he was naturally delighted with his goal.
"They are in good form in the Championship so we were well aware of that, we had to be very careful," he admitted. "They played well at some stages but it was probably the right time for my goal. The fact that I scored it, it just all came together on this special day for me really. It's been a tough time but I've been looking forward to this day and it's been fantastic.
"That's what we needed, I think, especially [by] such a large margin. Five-one is a good win for us and is just what we need in terms of the games coming up. We've got some really good teams that we are playing against now so we need confidence, we need structure in our game. We must not make many mistakes because we're down the table and we need to climb out of [the] relegation [zone] soon - and I'm sure we'll get out of there."
Match fit once again, Hitzlsperger's performance tonight has placed him firmly in contention for a starting spot against Liverpool this weekend. Having refused to allow himself to become despondent during his time on the sidelines, Der Hammer insists that he can't wait to help fire the team out of the Premier League danger zone.
"I wasn't really frustrated because I've always said if you're frustrated it takes you longer to recover," he added. "But it's been tough, [especially] in the first place when I found out how long it would take. But the physios at the club and the surgeon in Germany have been excellent so that's why I came back right on time.
"I've done my best to be fit for the day when it really matters and that's what I've showed today mostly - so I'm looking forward to the next few games."
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