Rice wants starting spot against Spurs

West Ham's Ireland Under-21 defender Declan Rice has targeted a spot in Slaven Bilic's starting eleven against Tottenham at the London Stadium on Saturday.

London-born Rice started West Ham's 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Bolton on Tuesday, and the 18-year-old says Bilic's pre-match suggestion that a good League Cup performance could put him in line for a starting berth in Saturday's London derby really resonated.

"Things like that really fire me up," he said.

"We have a few more training sessions before the Spurs game. There’s a space up for grabs and I want to take it."

Bilic, who will be without centre-half James Collins for a month with ankle ligament damage, was impressed by the youngster's confident performance against the Championship side.

"Declan Rice is only young on paper," said Bilic.

"He has got a brain and concentration as if he was 30-years-old. 

"He is thinking about the game, his positioning and he is totally in the game which is putting him into a position where he has got everything to become a really, really good player."

Bilic could start Rice in a back three against Mauricio Pochettino's side, but the Croat says the academy graduate is just as comfortable as a holding midfielder.

"Declan can play both in defence and in midfield," he said. 

"He is naturally a centre back, but he has got enough stamina in his body and legs to play as a holding midfielder.

"Where he is going to play in his career I really don't know. If I had to choose I would say centre back, but I don't see anything he doesn't have to be a really good central midfielder as well."

Image: Getty Images/Julian Mansfield

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