West Ham ace Michail Antonio admits he never "set out to be a striker".

Antonio is due to start upfront today against Aston Villa.

He recalled to whufc.com: “I obviously didn't set out to be a striker, I obviously didn't set out to be here for nine years, so it's just one of the things that I kind of came here to try to set my ground in the Premier League and try and show what I can do, show I could do what I did in the Championship and in League One and just to show my class it's been a crazy rollercoaster ride for me over the last nine years being here!

“It's been weird because every single year I've had to prove myself again. Different managers come in, or the manager who had been here the year before was looking to bring someone in because I'm not the prettiest footballer, and I know who I am, so I understand that.

“Every time someone comes in, they want to bring in someone who is a better tactician or someone else who looks better but, at the end of the day, when I step on the field, I know what I bring and I know what I can do and, at the end of the day, every manager who sees the positives that I can bring to the team and every manager starts using me."