Avram Grant has revealed that he feels right at home in London's East End ahead of West Ham's opening Premier League game of the season.

The former Israel coach, who replaced Gianfranco Zola at Upton Park last month, begins his reign with a trip to managerless Aston Villa on Saturday.

The Hammers endured a wretched season fighting against relegation last time around but Grant is adamant the feel-good factor surrounding the club has given everyone a newfound confidence.

"Life is very good and I feel as if I have been here at Upton Park for many years," he said.

"The welcome from the supporters and everyone at the club has been very good and now we need to go and do it.

"The supporters have been great so far and have really got behind us and we'll do everything we can to make sure they're happy.

"We have a target to change the team and to make things a bit different. Our target is not to fight against relegation this year.

"We are trying our best but our resources are limited."

The 55-year-old has already made a number of new signings, including fellow countryman Tal Ben Haim, and is now hoping to add to the squad before the end of the transfer window.

He added: "We want to bring in more players to make the squad stronger. We have targets for the next few years and not just for one year.

"The first step is to be better than last year and the next step is to make sure we do even better.

"I like it because I believe in football that you need to build step by step."