Garth Crooks has raved about the display of West Ham defender James Collins against Stoke and admitted his quality in that game surprised him.
The 34-year-old centre-back is a fringe player in the Hammers squad and has made just five senior appearances this season.
However, the experienced Wales international got the chance to feature for David Moyes’ side at the weekend and starred in an impressive 3-0 victory over Stoke.
Mark Noble, Marko Arnautovic and Diafra Sakho were on the scoresheet for West Ham as they turned in the perfect away performance.
The London club are now 15th-placed in the Premier League table and will hope to continue with their strong form in the fight against relegation.
BBC pundit Crooks singled out defender Collins for his recent performance and confessed he was a little shocked by his quality.
“When I realised that Winston Reid was unavailable for West Ham’s game against Stoke because of suspension and would be replaced by James Collins, my immediate thought was concern,” Crooks wrote in his column for BBC Sport.
“Collins has played very little first-team football for the Hammers this season and was up against a Stoke side desperate for points. I shouldn’t have worried. Collins was immense.”
OPINION
Collins is a seasoned veteran that has shown he can be an important player in the West Ham squad and it’s a relief for Moyes that he can turn to players of his experienced. The ‘Ginger Pele’ is a big favourite with supporters and he put in an assured performance away in difficult circumstances at Stoke. He will now hope for a good run in the side and the three-man defence gives him a good chance of doing so. West Ham face Arsenal in midweek in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and that would be a great opportunity to give him another game.