West Ham boss Alan Curbishley says he is looking forward to a bright young future for the club's youngsters.

The Hammers have seen four home grown stars come through the ranks recently to make an impact at Premiership level, the last one being James Tomkins at Everton last Saturday, and he believes the Academy of Football is once again producing the goods.

"The fans get a big lift by homegrown talent - certainly at West Ham anyway - and those watching (at Everton) would have got a big lift out of Tomkins. He came through it after the goal," he told East London press.

"Obviously young Freddie coming on, and not forgetting Ferdinand and Noble, it bares well for us in the future.

"It's looking good for and if we can get one or two of those injured players back it will give us that little bit of quality that we need and will make the squad stronger."