West Ham United's Academy Manager Terry Westley was one of the proudest coaches in England on Sunday after seeing Reece Oxford become the youngest player in the Club's history when he made a memorable Premier League debut against Arsenal.
Westley has played a big part in helping Oxford make a stunning breakthrough into the first-team at just 16 and can only see bigger and better things ahead for the talented midfielder.
Oxford never put a foot wrong throughout the game at Emirates Stadium and showed he has the quality to play against the best players in the Premier League this season.
With Mark Noble and James Tomkins coming through the famous academy at the Boleyn Ground, Westley has no doubts that Oxford has the mentality as well as the ability to follow in their footsteps and become a regular member of the first-team squad.
Westley said: “The boy himself thrives on challenges and at 15 he wants to play in the Under-21's and he was captain of the 21's last season. That is the platform he wants to be on.
“He wants to train with senior players and wants to be around the homegrown players like Tomkins and Noble.
“We had three homegrown players on the pitch (against Arsenal) and it is great credit to them for the way they helped Reece during the game.
“Reece is not fazed by who he is playing and he wants to be challenged at the very highest level. I looked at him in the tunnel and thought he was coming out to play in an Under-21 game, rather than in front of 50,000 fans.
“It all came good for him on the day. He doesn't get worried about the situation like other youngsters could.
“It wasn't a risk for the manager because you eliminate that because he is a good player.
“There are an awful lot of good young players in the country but the mentality has to be right and he showed that over the weekend.”
To watch the video in full, log in or sign up to My West Ham now.