West Ham United striker Enner Valencia has lavished praise on the club's fans, hailing them for their passion and respectfulness.

The Ecuadorian said that he learned about the Hammers through football hooligan movies such as Green Street, but has had nothing but positive experiences with their supporters in real life.

"I knew about West Ham mainly from watching films and I know that the supporters were very passionate. I don't remember the names of all the films, but I remember Green Street," The Mirror quotes him as saying.

"I respected the fact that they are very passionate supporters and when I found out I was coming here I didn't know what to expect. But here in England, the fans are respectful in the sense that in South America if you lose a match you can't even go out in the street.

"Here, after we lost the opening game [against Tottenham] people stayed in the stadium and showed their support. That's something I really liked."

West Ham take on Manchester United away from home this weekend.