West Ham can crack the Premier League's top six this season

I was in the West Ham side that finished fifth in the 1998-99 season which was their best ever campaign in the Premier League and David Moyes can lead the Hammers to a top-six spot this term.

Champions League qualification could prove beyond them - they have too much ground to make up on Leicester and Manchester United and surely one of Liverpool or Chelsea will get past them on the run-in - yet West Ham supporters would be buzzing if they are top six.

I get that some of their stats haven't been amazing and it means they are overachieving to some extent but David Moyes has still done a brilliant job in what is an unusual West Ham side.

Most people associate the Hammers with flair and being flaky, but this is a side made of sterner stuff under Moyes.

Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice set the standards for the rest of the side and are a perfect pair in front of the defence. Soucek offers aerial ability in both boxes and Rice is absolute class with a good range of passing plus an awareness to track runners.

When I first saw Rice he looked like a centre-back who was just learning in midfield before dropping back and yet now he is an international quality player in his position who is capable of playing at the very highest level.

It was reported that Chelsea didn't want to pay a hefty fee for him and I wonder whether that was not a judgement on Rice as such, but more they just didn't fancy paying for a player they gave away in the first place.

However, players develop at different times. I have no idea whether Rice was good enough then but he definitely is now.

I watch him controlling games and it will be interesting to see whether Gareth Southgate agrees.

In my opinion Gareth should go 4-2-3-1 for the Euros and those two in front of the rearguard will need to be defensively sound as the centre-backs will need proper protection which means Jordan Henderson alongside Rice or Kalvin Phillips.

Jesse Lingard will be another hoping to make a late run for the Euros squad and on talent he is good enough. My doubt over him regards his mentality and ability to knuckle down, but he has made a strong start to life in a Hammer shirt.

Another who deserves a mention is left-back Aaron Cresswell, who has been great from set-pieces and open play.

Cresswell, Rice and the rest face a tough run of games with Saturday's trip to Manchester City followed by fixtures against Leeds, Manchester United and Arsenal before the international break.

There is no more daunting trip at the moment than taking on City but I think there are reasons to suggest my old club can avoid defeat at the Etihad.

Obviously West Ham are in great form anyway but City are not going to win every league game for the rest of the season. This is a quick turnaround from an away game in Europe on Wednesday and the early Saturday start isn't ideal, even for Pep Guardiola's all-stars.