Ben Johnson says Danny Ings' experience has proved invaluable to not just himself but West Ham United youngster Flynn Downes.
Ings scored his first goals for the club during Saturday's 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest. His brace was shortly followed by further goals from Declan Rice and Michail Antonio to lift the Hammers out of the relegation zone by two points.
Johnson at the back helped keep a clean sheet but speaking about the impact Ings has had since joining from Aston Villa in the January transfer window, the defender has said how the 30-year-old is teaching him and 24-year-old Downes, who made the switch from Swansea City last summer.
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“Danny has taught me so much in a short space of time, just his experience is second to none with the clubs he’s been at and what he’s done and he showed it again,” he told the club's official website. “So he’s been very good for me and Flynn and we’re just learning from him and he’s been teaching us a couple of things, so I’m just buzzing for him.
“We’ve had good conversations and I said he was going to score so it’s perfect when someone goes and does the job and it was what we needed at the right time because the game was going a bit stale.”
Johnson has played across the backline at various points for David Moyes' side this season. At the beginning of the campaign, he was forced to deputise at centre-back due to a number of injuries.
And on Saturday, he played the first 45 minutes at left back before switching over to the right for the second half due to an injury to Vladimir Coufal.
Right footed and a natural right back, the 23-year-old admitted it wasn't easy playing down both flanks over the weekend but it's something that comes with the job and it was important to get the win.
“It’s not easy, because you’re going from one side of the pitch to the other, you have to use both legs, the left one in the first half predominantly and then moving naturally to the right in the second,” he added. “But it’s doing the same job and something that sort of comes hand in hand.
“I’ve tried to learn my job as best as I can and, of course, I’m still learning and training and in every game or when I’m called upon just to give 100 per cent. So it was a game of two halves really for me and it was just good that we got the win."
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