Soccer: Upbeat Reid aims to nail down spot

All White Winston Reid is itching to be out on the park for longer. File Photo / Brett Phibbs

Winston Reid's dramatic, late equaliser against Slovakia at this year's World Cup could well be voted the best sporting moment of 2010 at the Halberg Awards.

It changed Reid's life and propelled the All Whites to the forefront of the nation's consciousness.

The 22-year-old soon became just the sixth New Zealander and first Maori to play in the English Premier League when he was picked up by London club West Ham for £4 million. Life, it seemed, couldn't get any better.

But Reid has endured a frustrating time since then. He experienced a torrid debut in the unfamiliar position of right-back in a 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa on the opening day of the season and was lucky not to concede a penalty. He then picked up a hip injury in the 3-1 defeat to Bolton a week later, which kept him out of the frame for more than a month.

Since that Bolton defeat, Reid has played just 52 minutes in 18 league and cup games for the Hammers. He's been an unused substitute on six occasions before this morning's visit of Manchester City and it hasn't always been easy viewing, considering West Ham occupy the bottom of the table. Throw in a red card for a shocking tackle in New Zealand's 2-0 defeat to Paraguay in Wellington, and you could forgive Reid for feeling a little disconsolate.

But he remains surprisingly upbeat: "At a Premier League club, there are as many as five players in your position and it's a battle every day in training to perform well and compete for your spot," he says from London. "Everyone wants to play but only two can so obviously there are some who are disappointed.

"[The hip injury] annoyed me because I couldn't give 100 per cent. When you're at a new club, you want to make a good impression and be there for every practice and give your best and I couldn't do that. That was the thing that annoyed me the most, that I couldn't be on the [training] pitch every day.

"After injury, you have to start from scratch, which is understandable."

He's on the cusp of selection and has seen some time in two of West Ham's last three games, including the 4-0 defeat of an admittedly second-string Manchester United in the Carling Cup.

The Christmas period is a busy one in England. West Ham will play seven games in 21 days from Boxing Day and Reid can expect to get his chance.

"Football changes in a second," he says, perhaps thinking about that header against Slovakia. "I want to be playing, obviously. Hopefully I can get some time on the pitch, build some confidence and get back in the team again."

West Ham manager Avram Grant has told Reid to remain patient because he will get another chance. It's logical to assume he will, especially when you consider the amount the club paid for the former Danish youth international. His price tag of £4 million can't compare to the stupid money being thrown around by the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea - but it's a considerable amount for a club like West Ham.

Grant is also a Reid fan. "He has big potential for the Premier League," the manager said when he signed the player in August. "He has physical quality and technical quality. He is very young and can only get better."

The problem is, Grant is fighting for his West Ham career. Other clubs don't show as much patience as the Hammers have. Only last week Newcastle sacked Chris Hughton even though he had won them promotion back into the Premier League and then guided them to, among others, wins over Arsenal and Everton and a 1-1 draw with Chelsea. Every decision Grant makes has to be the right one, and he won't be interested in developing a young player.

It doesn't help Reid's cause that West Ham captain and former England defender Mathew Upson is an automatic choice at centre-back and the experienced Danny Gabbidon, as well as youngster James Tomkins, are also blocking his path back into the side. Reid has played a little at fullback but it's not a position he feels entirely comfortable.

Time is on Reid's side and former All Whites coach Allan Jones says the best thing he can do is remain patient.

"He's got all the raw talent in the world," Jones says, "not least of all pace, which you can't coach. He can be erratic and needs to calm himself down and play a percentage game. If he can be patient, he has every chance of making it.

"He's a young player who has come into the very highest level of competitive domestic football in the world. While he had a romantic start playing at a World Cup, he wouldn't be allowed to put a foot wrong.

"The squads [in the English Premier League] are big. You're looking at 30 players and once you're out of the first XI you have to fight like anything to get back in."

On Sunday, Reid will meet up with fellow All White Rory Fallon, who recently transferred from Plymouth to Ipswich. The pair will do a spot of Christmas shopping together. If Reid has a Christmas wishlist, getting a spot back in the first team might be at the top.