West Ham United centre-back Fabian Balbuena has talked up the importance of having to be patient to get into the starting eleven of a team.
The 28-year-old Paraguay international joined the Premier League side from Brazilian club Corinthians for an undisclosed fee.
Although he struggled during his early days at the club, the defender went on to settle in well and become an integral part of Manuel Pellegrini's team, making 23 league appearances.
However, the centre-back found himself relegated to the substitutes bench at the start of this season, receiving only one start in the Hammers' first nine league games.
While Balbuena then managed to get back in the starting eleven and start the Hammers' last three games, he has stressed the importance of being patient.
“I am working hard and I know that only eleven players can start each match”, Balbuena told the club's official site.
“This is football. Sometimes you have to wait and try to work hard to come back into the team, which is what I did.”
The former Corinthians man admits that he did not speak English when he arrived at West Ham, however being able to speak in both Spanish and Portuguese he was able to settle in.
“I spoke Spanish and a little Portuguese, so I was able to speak to a lot of the players, the manager and the staff, which made it easier and it was not too complicated!” Balbuena recalled.
West Ham are currently having a rough patch and sit 16th in the table with 13 points, just five points more than 18th and 19th placed Watford and Southampton.
