GOALKEEPER Ruud Boffin had to overcome a severe bout of nerves before making his Premier League debut for West Ham in the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

“I was quite nervous before the start of the game. The first time I heard that I was going to play, I had to go to the toilet very quickly,” said the Belgian.

Boffin was called in to action after injuries to number one stopper Robert Green and his deputy Marek Stech.

And he could not have done much better in tricky conditions at Ewood Park. A few iffy clearances aside, the keeper did well to hold a Morten Gamst Pedersen free-kick and pulled off an excellent save to deny defender Ryan Nelsen, only for the Kiwi player’s second attempt to bobble over the line after the ball had rebounded back to him.

“I made a good save I thought from the first shot, but it went straight back to the player and I couldn’t quite reach it,” he said of the incident.

Boffin would not have done his chances of a promotion any harm at all with the display, although he concedes he has a tough task ahead of him if he is to replace Green between the sticks on a more permanent basis.

“I think Robert is a fantastic goalkeeper. I think he showed it every week, so I think when Robert is fit it is normal that he is going to play.”

The 23-year-old, who joined the Hammers from Dutch club MVV in September, admitted he was learning from Green and was looking forward to kicking on.

“I have already learned a lot from Greeny and also from Colesy, David Coles, the goalkeeper coach. It is totally different training in England than it is training in Belgium or in Holland, so I can learn a lot.”