Issa Diop has said he is always ready to step into the team when needed after his late call up to replace Kurt Zouma on Sunday afternoon.
Zouma was named in the starting XI but withdrew from the side just 20 minutes before kick-off and Diop came into the side and produced an excellent performance.
Diop's last start for West Ham ended with the defender being substituted at half-time against Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup after a chastening 45 minutes of football against the non-league outfit. It is great credit to Diop that he put that behind him and returned to the side with a composed display and all the more so given the lateness of his call-up.
David Moyes revealed Diop had some warning he may be needed after Zouma had been showing symptoms of illness throughout the day and Diop did not let his manager down.
"As a professional you have to be ready for everything," Diop told the club website. "This is what I’m training to do every day so the manager told me that Kurt was unwell and I played – that’s it. I hope Kurt is feeling better soon, as it's not something big.
"We started the game well and played a good first half. Then in the second half they changed some things and we struggled a bit for half-an-hour. Then, we finished the game better and I think it’s a fair result."
He added: "When you have the chance to play, you have to give everything and that's it."
Diop provided the assist for the Hammers opening with a beautifully weighted pass over the top of the Leicester defence with in-form man Jarrod Bowen slotting home his seventh goal in seven games.
However, after poor defending from Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal West Ham found themselves 2-1 down only for Craig Dawson to rescue a point in injury time and Diop was delighted for his cenre-back partner.
"It's very good for him and for the team because we got back level and we got a point, so that's a good thing," he said.
"I'm happy with the game but not with everything because we didn't win. Leicester are a very good team, they have a very good manager and very good players and it’s always tough to come here [to King Power Stadium] and get points. So it’s not the worst result for us. We’re not in our best form, so it’s good when you struggle a bit to still get some points. It’s a very important point because they all count.
"This is what we train all week for. At the moment [we’re not playing as well] as we can, but hopefully in the coming weeks it's going to work."
