It’s been a dream week for Keira Flannery.
The West Ham United fan was announced as the Clubs’ sixth signing of the summer on Friday afternoon.
A selfie message from her idol, Declan Rice followed shortly after – with the new Irons signing taking the same shirt number as the England international.
On Saturday, she wore the West Ham United shirt for the first time and featured in a 5-1 victory over Billericay Town at New Lodge – the Irons’ first pre-season outing ahead of the new Barclays Women’s Super League campaign.
And Flannery was delighted to be out there in Claret & Blue for the first time.
“Putting on the West Ham shirt for the first time as a player for the football Club was an amazing feeling,” she told whufc.com.
“To wear the number 41 on my back is something that I’m immensely proud to do. I might only have been a pre-season game today, but it was a lot more than that for me – today was the perfect end to a dream week.”
The Irons put in a good shift against the FA Women’s National League South side in what was Paul Konchesky’s first official match in charge.
The squad had a mix of both youth and experience, with Flannery featuring off the bench in the second half to help the Hammers seal the victory.
“It was a tough game out there because of how hot it was and also because it’s our first game back since the break.
“Towards the end we started to find our rhythm and created a few more openings. We got the result that we wanted in the end, and it was a really good runout for us.
“It’s exactly what we need at this stage of pre-season, you want to be tested physically. Now we will recover over the next two days and go again on Wednesday at Enfield.”
Konchesky’s side make the short trip North to the QEII Stadium on Wednesday evening for their second pre-season outing.
And Flannery is hoping to make another positive impact on the pitch against the Towners.
“It’s another chance to get used to the standard here. – It’s a real learning curve to play with and watch the players we have at the Club; it helps you to improve as a player and I’ve already learnt a lot in the first two weeks.
“I feel really good and can’t wait to be back out there on Wednesday night,” she concluded.
The Hammers are back in action on Wednesday 27 July, when they travel to Enfield Town for their second pre-season fixture ahead of the 2022/23 Barclays Women's Super League campaign.
Fans can purchase tickets ahead of the match by heading to the Enfield Town website!
