Pablo Fornals has been one of West Ham's most used players this season so if anyone was deserving of a winter break it was the Spaniard.
To say it has been a busy season for the playmaker is an understatement. Not only has he featured in all but two of the Hammers' 33 matches so far, he has added two caps to his Spain career taking him to six appearances in total for the national team, and on the personal side his partner gave birth to their first child late last year.
Not that Fornals is complaining about the hectic nature of his life.
"I want to enjoy every game, play in as many matches as possible, and compete in every competition," Fornals told the club website.
The players enjoyed a well-earned break with David Moyes giving his squad a week off before returning to Rush Green in preparation for the months ahead and Fornals is well aware of the exciting times to come.
"We’re into another three or four months where we have games every three days," he added. "We have the Premier League matches, with Watford on Tuesday and then Leicester City. We have the FA Cup, of course, and then the UEFA Europa League matches are coming up as well.
"It will be a very intensive four months and we want to finish up the league table as high as we can, be in the FA Cup as long as we can and keep progressing in the Europa League too. As a player, that’s what I play for."
With a newborn in the family life has changed greatly for Fornals this season and he took the opportunity of the winter break to head back to Spain and recharge his batteries.
"With the baby sleeping much better, we were able to catch up with some sleep ourselves. Obviously, I was doing some training every day while we were there, but I also had time to enjoy the sun and spend time with my missus, my family and my friends, so it was a really good time," he said.
"Of course, it’s not quite the same as being in the off-season over the summer but it lets you come up for air a bit after three or four months of playing every three days.
"We’ve played a lot of games since the start of the season, but that’s not a bad thing. We’re a great team, and we are playing in Europe, so we have to play many games. But it was a week that we were free of matches, which allowed everyone the chance to go away and reset a bit, which was really nice for us all."
The Hammers return to action on Saturday with an FA Cup tie against non-league Kidderminster Harries and Fornals is hoping he gets picked for the match.
"I’m a guy who always wants to play, and who wants to give his everything for the club. I will be ready for the match if the gaffer needs me," he added.
"I’m expecting a difficult game. When you’re in the FA Cup, teams from the lower divisions have the platform to really show how good they are, so it’s not going to be easy at all. We know Kidderminster will be up for this match, so it will be a big game for us."
