The Hammers are lying in a comfortable mid-table position in their first campaign back in the Premier League. Manager Sam Allardyce could only field six substitutes for Sunday's game at West Brom for which seven players were unavailable through injury. But his side showed plenty of resilience in earning a goalless draw against one of the surprise teams of the season. Centre-back Collins said:
"We've got off to a great start. If you had said to us before the season started that we'd be where we are now, we'd have been more than happy.
"We have got a few injuries, but we can't use that as an excuse. We've got off to a terrific start and we want to keep that going, regardless of injuries.
"People say having six subs shows how short we are but you have to deal with it. If you haven't got the players there is nothing we can do.
"There were a lot of young lads on the bench, but we see them every day in training and they're certainly good enough to be there."
Collins, who rejoined the Hammers from Aston Villa in the summer, added:
"We got a great point and, as long as we show the team spirit and the fight we had at West Brom, we'll be fine.
"We looked before the game at the teams they had beaten at The Hawthorns and I think we would have taken a point." Allardyce added:
"We were down to the bare bones with six or seven players missing and it was a solid and honest performance.
"It had been a while since we had a clean sheet and Albion have done very well at home this season.
"We were very well organised, solid and hardworking and showed very good defensive qualities."
Source: team_talk
