Declan Rice: A season of hard lessons for future West Ham star

Declan Rice flew through West Ham’s season last year as a standout performer. However as the club has faltered again, Rice has had to adjust to some personal criticism.

For the last few years, it has been a forgone conclusion as to who the brightest young player at West Ham has been. Declan Rice has gone from strength to strength under a succession of managers and has adapted extremely well to a move from center back to defensive midfield.

So many expected this season to be another on an upward trajectory for the youngster, but it’s proven a little more complex than that. With many discussing the manager’s position on a daily basis, many of the team have seen themselves in and out of the side.

And whilst Rice has been a mainstay in the First XI, he doesn’t seem to have adjusted to all the change around him or the increased pressure he has been under with the side struggling to hold the ball. In fact, some have even said he shouldn’t be considered for the international side in his current form. Others have said it was all him being overhyped, to begin with.

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For me those calling him over-rated are bandwagon fans of the sport, not appreciating that in any line of work things will go up and down over time. But he couldn’t have produced the kind of season he did last year if it wasn’t for his quality. And with any dip in form, I think we’re going to see him come back even stronger because of the adversity he’s been through.

If you’re a young player and everything just goes swimmingly, you’re going to look like a confident footballer, but you will probably struggle to adapt in later career to things not being perfect. If Rice can get his head down and, whoever it is, work with the manager to improve his game then we’ll be looking back at this season as when he really forged himself into a star. Because they don’t come from just coasting through.

But he does need to realize that he isn’t infallible. Adjustments do need to be made to his game, especially considering the changes that are coming up around him. He will likely be playing under another manager before the end of the season, someone who may want him to perform differently. And this shouldn’t be a criticism, but a chance to show everyone that he can do this job for West Ham and for England in the years to come.

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Irons aren’t forged with soothing words, platitudes, and easy games. They’re forged in fire. And I think Declan Rice will emerge from this season stronger than we’ve seen him before.