Borders footballer Josh Landers hoping for more first-team call-ups at West Ham

That was for their 2-2 draw away to Burnley on Sunday, August 16, and though the 19-year-old didn’t set foot on the Lancashire side’s Turf Moor pitch other than to warm up, he was delighted just to make it onto the bench alongside it.

The Borderer wasn’t named in manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad for the Hammers’ 2-1 defeat at home to fellow Londoners Charlton Athletic six days later or their 4-1 win away to Southampton on Tuesday but he’s hopeful of getting the nod again before the current season is out.

“That’s what you dream of as a little kid, isn’t it, being in the first-team squad alongside names such as Jarrod Bowen?,” the striker told his club’s website.

“Even just training with them during the week and being around the changing room, that’s where you want to be and where we’re all trying to get to. It was surreal.”

Since his trip to Burnley, the reported £120,000 signing has helped West Ham’s under-21s to a 2-1 English National League Cup group win at Worthing on Tuesday, August 18, scoring one of their goals, and also featured in their goalless English Premier League 2 draw hosting Southampton’s under-21s three days later, relishing the challenge presented by the former game in West Sussex.

“Playing against a men’s team is a different challenge to facing an under-21s side,” said the ex-Leithen Vale player. “It’s much more physical.

“I thought we coped well with that aspect of the game. In the end, we competed really well.

“Our coaches wanted us to be more physical and handle what it’s like to play a men’s team. We’ve also got a few younger lads that haven’t faced sides like this before, but we all won more duels as the game progressed.

“When you go one goal down, you can go into your shells, but we stayed in the game and carried on competing to turn it around and win the match.”

Landers, contracted to West Ham at least until June 2028 after agreeing an extension in December, scored in three successive pre-season friendlies against Canvey Island, Ebbsfleet United and Colchester United at the end of July and is hoping he can keep finding the back of the net over the course of the current competitive campaign, saying: “I think football is all about confidence. The more confident you are, the better you’re going to be on the pitch.

“The biggest enemy is when you don’t believe in yourself.

“As a striker, all you want to be doing is scoring goals, playing as much as you can and helping the team out.”

The Hammers’ development side’s next game is away to Chelsea’s under-21s on Monday in Premier League 2 and they host Brighton’s under-21s in the Premier League Cup next Friday, September 4.