West Ham United’s Lukasz Fabianski is of the view that added responsibility of wearing the captain's armband has helped the growth of team-mate Declan Rice.

Rice has been an integral part of David Moyes’ side in the current season, having featured in 33 league outings for the Hammers.  

 



The 21-year old deputised as captain for his club’s injured skipper Mark Noble in their thrilling 3-2 Premier League victory over Chelsea.

Fabianski, who has been Rice’s team-mate since July 2018, is of the view that the additional responsibility entrusted by his team’s manager on the midfielder has positively attributed to Rice’s growth.
 


The Hammers’ custodian stressed that Rice rose to the occasion and has acknowledged the Englishman’s consistent performances in the middle of the pitch.



I think he has grown massively”, Fabianski told West Ham’s official site.

“What helped him as well in recent weeks is that the manager gave him the armband and that gives you more responsibility out on the pitch, you become more vocal out there and by that you create this aura of being more respected by the players because they look at you as the captain.
 

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“He took this challenge on himself really well.

“He has always been delivering week-in, week-out, but you can see even more in this difficult moment, he’s really putting in great performances and I hope he can continue to do this for the rest of this season.

“He’s not afraid of the challenge.

“He’s making really good decisions with and without the ball.

"Sometimes he is covering positions he shouldn’t be for the sake of the team, for the points, so he knows what it takes to get a result and that’s something big players have”.

West Ham are due to host Burnley at the London Stadium tonight and are then scheduled to play bottom side Norwich City on Saturday.