In the seven months since he left Arsenal, John Hartson has been asked by both Sky television and Capital Radio to join a broadcast team at the ground. But he had already promised himself that his first return to Highbury would only be through the door marked: Players' Entrance.

Having spent his last minutes as an Arsenal player lying contemplatively in the bath after being sent off against Middlesbrough, he did not want anyone to get the impression that he was making a rather abashed return through the tradesmen's entrance.

So next Wednesday, Hartson will carry his kit bag proudly past the uniformed doorman into the marble halls, intent on showing that his form and temperament are now worthy of the £5 million sterling transfer fee that took him to West Ham.

He says: "I am definitely a better player. I can try things now and not get told off for them because Harry Redknapp gives me that freedom. If I want to shoot, I can shoot and if I want to pass, I do. At Arsenal, I had a specific role to play but I feel I've got a bigger role at West Ham. I'm a bit more respected, a bit more relied on and I like that extra responsibility."

He has also proved that his temper, which led to the constant neon flashing of red and yellow cards at Highbury, is not a congenital condition of his Welsh birth certificate and what bit of giveaway red hair the barber's razor has left him.

Temper would seem to be more a result of environmental conditions around London, N5, seeing that Dennis Bergkamp, who used to be more mild mannered than Clark Kent, has been booked three times already this season. Only once in six games has a referee asked Hartson to spell his name.

He believes that the incessant need to prove himself when he got a temporary and seemingly grudging loan of an Arsenal red shirt, led to him becoming as habitual an offender as Norman Stanley Fletcher in the eyes of the authorities. "I am much more relaxed now", he says, "at Arsenal, I was always having to go out to show what I could do. If I got into the team because Wrighty was suspended or Dennis was injured, I'd know they'd always come straight back in."

He may be one of the best strikers in the air in the Premiership but he takes his head out of the clouds between matches. "I don't kid myself that I would be in the Arsenal team this season. Wrighty's playing out of his skin and looks as though he could go on for another two or three years and we all know about Dennis. Arsenal have also got Anelka, Boa Morte and a lot of good young strikers."

At present, the fixture computer would appear to be having a bit of a laugh with West Ham, as they say in the East End. Last week at Manchester United, next week at Liverpool. And tomorrow, at home to Newcastle, Asprilla and all.

"Good time to be playing them, isn't it?" says Harford, "though I really believe we can beat anyone at home." Again showing a head for sound reasoning as well as heights, he believes a target of six to seven points at the end of the four-match sequence is realistic.

"We don't want to be in the position we were in at the end of last season. We looked really down and out at one point. Now, if we keep up this good start, by January we could be pushing for a place in Europe."

This is the mantra of every club after half a dozen games of the season, even at places like Southampton and Barnsley, where it looks as though they will need a crane to keep them up. At West Ham, though, there really do seem signs that this season, their bubbles of ambition will not all be pricked by the New Year.

The injection of the clever Eyal Berkovic from Southampton has improved their midfield, Stan Laziridis has added width, and the weekly maturing of Rio Ferdinand has offset some of the disappointment at losing Slaven Bilic.

Plus there is the partnership between Hartson and Paul Kitson, which Redknapp rightly acknowledges kept his team in the Premiership last season. They scored 13 goals between them, five of them rather gratuitously in the 5-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday which put the final bolt on the relegation door.

Hartson has fond memories of Arsenal, where he scored over 20 goals in just over 60 matches and from recent conversations with Arsenal fans, he believes they have fond memories of him. He hopes they will not be too hard on him on Wednesday, so that he can not only enter through the front door but leave by it.

Guardian Service.