West Ham United striker Michail Antonio says he is excited about the future of Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz following the arrival of Steve McClaren as the new head coach.

The 63-year-old McClaren agreed to a two-year contract with the Jamaica Football Federation to lead the national senior men’s team, replacing Icelander Heimir Hallgrimsson who resigned in June and subsequently joined the Republic of Ireland national team.

McClaren, who has served as a member of Manchester United’s backroom staff under Erik Ten Hag, has had relative success throughout his over two-decade managerial career where he most famously coached England’s national team between 2006 and 2007, won the Dutch League with FC Twente in 2010 and had stints in the English Premier League (EPL) with Middlesbrough and Newcastle United.

Since Antonio’s debut in September 2021, the Reggae Boyz have gone through three different coaches with Theodore Whitmore, Paul Hall and Hallgrimsson.

However, despite missing out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Jamaica has risen as high as 53 in the FIFA World Rankings, made the semi-final of the Concacaf Gold Cup and Nations League and also qualified for the 2024 Conmebol Copa America.

Antonio, who has four goals in 18 appearances for the Reggae Boyz, says he’s looking forward to playing under McClaren and maximising the team’s full potential.

“One thing with Jamaica is [we] have the quality players, we have the skill to do it, it’s just staying tuned in for 90 minutes but we have the quality, we have the people that could be eligible to play,” he said during an interview with CBS Sports Golazo.

“But one thing is I’m always proud of being Jamaican, I’m always proud of being of my heritage, my mom brought me there from the day I was born until I was 16 every single year for six weeks, so playing for Jamaica is definitely something I’m proud of, something I’d always want to do and want to keep playing for years.”

Antonio is expected to be part of McClaren’s first squad for the Concacaf Nations League matches against Cuba and Honduras next month.

The 34-year-old is entering his 10th season with EPL club West Ham, where he’s made over 250 appearances since joining from Nottingham Forest in 2015.

He became a goal threat for the club under David Moyes where he’s netted 54 goals including finishing in double figures in four of his last five seasons.

However, he’ll be under the guidance of a new manager this season, Spaniard Julen Lopetegui, who replaced Moyes who left at the end of last season after the club finished ninth.

Antonio, though, says he’s setting high targets for himself and the club ahead of the new season which starts this weekend.

“[Pre-season] has been going well to be fair. It’s been hard but obviously we’re learning a new style of play, how we wants to play and it’s looking positive for us. We’re liking how it’s going and hopefully we can take into the season and start positive,” he said.

“We’ve been in Europe for the last couple of years, I feel like being back in Europe next season is a target that we’ve got to set ourselves. Personally, I always want a minimum of 10 goals a season. Obviously, I want more than that but minimum is 10 for me and obviously I’m getting old, there’s a different dimension to my game where I’m starting to come to feet more and try and get involved in the game but I like to be aggressive, I like to be in the fight and get goals.”

Antonio’s West Ham begin their 2024/25 campaign against Aston Villa on Saturday, team of compatriot Leon Bailey.