West Ham defender Joey O'Brien has revealed the club's goal this season was not just to avoid the drop but to land a top-ten finish.

Sam Allardyce's side will be playing Premier League football next season and the win last week has propelled them into the top half of the table and O'Brien reckons the goal was always much higher than mere survival.

"At the start of the season a top-ten finish was always the target," the 27-year-old told West Ham TV.

"There wasn't any talk of relegation when we set out in pre-season and look at us now, we're right on track to finish in the top half of the table."

O'Brien believes previous Premier League experience for him and others in the squad has proved vital in their campaign.

"As a newly promoted team that [a top-half finish] is a fantastic achievement," he added.

"Although Reading won the Championship last season, they've struggled this year. It's a hard league but we had players who had played in the top flight and that helped us from the start."

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