Declan Rice has urged his West Ham teammates to “create a legacy” that will see them “remembered forever” by winning Wednesday night’s Europa Conference League final.
Rice believes victory in what is expected to be his final game for the club would be his greatest achievement in football, with the 24-year-old preparing to lead the Hammers out in their first major European final since 1976.
The midfielder is set to be sold this summer, with the likes of Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Manchester United all pushing to seal a deal that could be worth around £100million.
Before then, however, Rice has the chance to join the legendary figures of Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds as the only West Ham captains to have ever lifted major silverware.
“This will be the biggest match that the Club has had in so long, so it’s going to be an honour to be part of and hopefully we can create some history on the night for the fans to cheer about,” Rice told the club website.
“We’ve already created history by getting to the final, but now there’s a chance to go and create a legacy where every single player, the manager, everyone involved will be remembered forever.
“I think it’s a unique opportunity that we’ve got, that we really want to take.”
Despite his relative youth, Rice is among the most experienced members of David Moyes squad, having already played in a European Championship final with England, as well as a World Cup quarter-final in Qatar this winter.
However, the Hammers academy graduate insists winning his first trophy would top anything he has achieved so far in his career.
“I think it would be my biggest achievement I’ve had in football so far, 100 per cent,” he added. “I think that would be for a lot of us. I think to win a trophy like this, a European trophy, with West Ham, I think it puts every player at a higher status within the Club in terms of with the fans, how you’ll be remembered.
“It would just mean everything, to be honest. Just to lift that trophy, especially to be with the lads as well – our group of boys are such good people, and to see them laughing and smiling and singing after the semi-final game.
“It’s definitely got the fire in our belly to have those kinds of nights again, and we’ve got the chance to do that. There are loads of things that add to it, but for me it’s just about wanting to see the lads smiling again and wanting to lift the trophy, wanting to see our families after with the trophy, just everything that we’ve got 90 minutes to do.”
