West Ham United midfielder Michail Antonio knows footballers can be “forgotten in two weeks” and is determined to keep improving to avoid that fate. Antonio started his senior career at semi-professional team Tooting and Mitcham United before joining Reading in 2008 and rising up the divisions, moving to West Ham in 2015.
The winger has since made over 50 league appearances for the Hammers. The 27-year-old had his best campaign in 2016-17 where he won the club’s Player of the Year award after scoring nine goals in 29 league starts to help the London side secure a 11th placed finish but Antonio aims to improve further. “I never think ‘I’ve made it’ because, in football, you can be forgotten within two weeks and I don’t ever want to be forgotten. I want to always be better and make my career last as long as possible,” Antonio told the club’s official website. 
“It does make me proud to know where I’ve come from and how hard I have worked, but I’m also scared of it, because I know what I’ve had to do, and I don’t ever want to go back to that situation. It drives me more to be better.”
Antonio is recovering from a hamstring injury that ended his season in April but signed a new four-year contract at West Ham in May and is confident that he can achieve his target of scoring more goals next season. 

Swansea will reap benefits of full pre-season: Clement
Swansea City manager Paul Clement hopes that having a full pre-season with his side will help them start the 2017-18 Premier League campaign strongly and avoid another relegation scrap. Clement joined Swansea in January, when they were bottom of the table, and led them out of the relegation zone with the team collecting 26 points from 18 games to finish 15th after four wins in their last five league matches.
The 45-year-old believes that his side will benefit from the opportunity to have a full pre-season as he can develop the team without the pressure of a relegation battle. “The key to making sure we do not have the same sort is season is starting strongly,” Clement said. 
“Every game is important and we want a good tally by the halfway point so we can avoid this pressure and suffering we have had in the second half of last season. Pre-season will be important in that We did not have time to do that in January because the pressure was on and it was so hectic. This gives us a less pressurised environment in which to do all those things.”

Striker Costa hard to replace at Chelsea, says Lampard
Premier League champions Chelsea will find it difficult to replace influential striker Diego Costa if he departs in the current transfer window, club legend Frank Lampard has said. Costa, 28, has been Chelsea’s top scorer in all three seasons since joining the club in 2014, leading them to two league title wins.
Earlier this month, the Spain international said that he would leave Stamford Bridge after being told by manager Antonio Conte that he was not a part of the club’s future plans. “He’s a fantastic striker and we all saw that last season and since he’s been at Chelsea. He would be very difficult to replace, there’s no doubt about it,” Lampard said. “He’s an all-round physical presence that also has the quality to get goals, that’s not easy to find in the modern day.”

Getafe return to La Liga at first attempt
Getafe returned to La Liga at the first time of asking on Saturday when they defeated Tenerife 3-1 in the second leg of their promotion play-off. The Madrid club, who were relegated from the top flight a year ago, recovering from losing the first leg 1-0 on Wednesday. They will join Levante and Girona in La Liga next season after those clubs earned automatic promotion.
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