Stuart Pearce was in tears as West Ham players gave Andriy Yarmolenko ‘standing ovation’ in dressing room after scoring against Aston Villa

Stuart Pearce said he had to fight back tears after Andriy Yarmolenko marked his return to action with a goal against Aston Villa.

The Hammers assistant coach revealed to talkSPORT the whole squad gave the Ukraine international a standing ovation in the dressing room after his match-winning contribution to the 2-1 Premier League victory.

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In an emotional afternoon, the 32-year-old scored the opening goal that helped the Irons to a much needed three points.

Yarmolenko, who received a standing ovation from both sets of fans when entering onto the pitch in the 53rd minute, fell to his knees and was congratulated by every teammate after scoring.

It was the first time the forward had been in the squad since taking compassionate leave amid his country’s war with Russia.

And, speaking on the talkSPORT Breakfast, Pearce was full of praise for Yarmolenko and gave us a behind-the-scenes look into the dressing room after the full-time whistle.

“It was a really, really emotional day,” the West Ham coach said.

“I’ve got to say Yarma[lenko]’s conducted himself brilliantly over the last few weeks and to be honest with you, how he’s done it, I don’t know.

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“He’s been in to train most of the time, obviously with everything that’s going on, he was fortunate enough to get his wife and children out of Ukraine after the war had started.

“It’s been really, really tough for him, and an incredibly emotional day yesterday, I’ve got to say. The scene was almost set for Yarma and the feeling and the support that everyone in this country has for Ukraine.    

“We came in afterwards [into the dressing room] and there was standing applause when he scored his goal.

“He was in tears and I’ve got to say there was a tear in my eye as well for everything that it meant.   

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“It’s a really sad scenario we are stuck in at the moment and hopefully there is a peaceful resolution very soon.

“But the way he conducted himself, the way the whole stadium came together, and I think there were Villa fans who showed support believe it or not, it was fantastic to see."