On Mother's Day, Michail Antonio has paid tribute to the sound advice given to him by his Mum.
The No30 revealed how his mother was determined that he complete his education before trying to embark on a career as a professional footballer as a teenager.
The winger explained how he was told he could not join Tottenham Hotspur at the age of 14 due to the travelling and late nights having a negative effect on his schooling. And, looking back, Antonio said his Mum was right.
"I was going to go to uni," the Hammers leading goalscorer revealed. "At that moment I was in college doing a BTEC and I actually got into Southampton University to do Sports Science. So in the following September I would have gone to uni, but I managed to get signed [by Reading in 2008].
"I was thinking of becoming a PE teacher, so I've had other plans, but there was only one thing in my heart and that was football.
"At 14, the manager of my school also coached at Tottenham and he got a scout to come down. Me and my friend both got scouted and he scored an unbelievable overhead kick from outside the box! So, he went and my Mum said 'No' because, to be honest, I lived in south London and would have had to travel to north London every day.
"I also had to do college, so I'd have got home at eleven o'clock at night and then had to get up to go to school. My Mum said 'football isn't a guarantee, but education is' and 'education comes first' and I think it's one of the best things she could have ever done for me, to be honest, because I've now got my education and I've also got my football."
Happy Mother's Day to Hammers-supporting Mums everywhere!