Declan Rice has professed his preference for playing in a holding midfield role for West Ham United, but admitted that he still has much to learn about playing in the position.
The Hammers academy graduate started out his career as a centre-back, but several defensive errors last season saw him demoted to the bench before being trialled out in front of the defence, where he has been a mainstay in the current campaign.
Rice, who was again excellent in the 3-1 win over Fulham at the London Stadium on Friday night, says he prefers playing as a holding midfielder under Mauricio Pellegrini.
“The manager’s been on at me all season to protect the back four and when we saw they were lining up with two up-front we knew they’d be going into the front men because they are big and physical,” Rice told whufc.com.
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“In the first ten minutes they got the better of it, and maybe I had to switch on more because Mitrovic was bringing the ball down and playing off that.
“From then on I thought we did much better, me, Nobes and Snoddy. I’ve been playing in midfield so much this season and I’m really enjoying it.
“That’s where I want to see my future. It’s handy that I can play at the back too, sometimes I still train at the back and it’s good to know the position.
“I love playing the holding role, but there’s still much to improve on.”