Nigel Quashie believes this time round he can fight a successful relegation battle with West Ham after leaving promotion hopefuls West Brom.

The 28-year-old, who was relegated with Saints before moving to the Baggies for £1.2m just before the transfer window shut last January, last night signed for the Hammers in a deal which could be worth £1.75 million.

Even though the Baggies are in fifth place in the Championship and looking set for a strong promotion challenge, the Scotland midfielder is in no doubt he has made the right choice.

"I am delighted that the deal has now been done and it feels great to be a West Ham United player," said Quashie, who joins a team five points adrift of safety.

"I am now looking forward to being a part of the club, getting out on the pitch, and getting my foot in to try and help us out of this position.

"As soon as I heard that West Ham were interested, I thought to myself: 'I would like to be a part of that.' "Having met Alan Curbishley and the chairman, I can see the direction the club is going in, and I fully believe that the squad here is capable of achieving the success they want."

Quashie added: "The easier option would have been to stay at West Brom and try to keep us up there in the Championship with a chance of promotion.

"But I looked at the situation here and saw it as a club who can go on to bigger and better things in the future if we can stay in the Premiership this year."