Robbie Keane joined West Ham on loan from Tottenham but the Republic of Ireland striker is willing to move permanently if the Hammers are still in the Premier League next season. The 30-year-old told the Hammers' official programme for Saturday's clash with Manchester United: "First and foremost, I just want to get on the pitch and play football.
"It is a short career, so the last thing I want to be doing is sitting on the bench.
"At my age, I need to be playing regular football and, hopefully, with the squad of players we have, we're quite capable of staying in the Premier League.
"If that's the case then I'll obviously be here next year."
Keane insisted he was relaxed over leaving Spurs, where he found his chances increasingly limited.
"I would prefer to be criticised for going to play football than be criticised for sitting on the bench and collecting my money," he added.
"I'm not one of those players who picks my money up for not doing anything.
"Some players can do that and are quite happy to sit on the bench and go through life and it's no problem, but I'm not one of those players."
