Declan Rice insists West Ham is a 'special place to play'.

The England midfielder has long been linked with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.

But after Sunday's win over Aston Villa, which puts West Ham into fourth on the table, Rice has admitted he is completely happy in east London.

"It's a special group at the minute, a special environment," the playmaker told Sky Sports. "We wake up looking forward to training. Every game, we've been in it until the end.

"It's a special place to play. We're over the moon. We are joint third. The big question people asked before the season was whether we could do it again.

"We've found out we can. But still a lot more games to go. This is the level, the standard. We can't drop if we want to be a big team."