Dimitri Payet has revealed Joe Cole helped convince him to join West Ham during the pair's time together at Lille.

The French midfielder joined the Hammers from Marseille last summer and has become an instant hit at Upton Park.

The 28-year-old has scored seven Premier League goals this season and is a key member of Slaven Bilic's side, who entertain Tottenham tonight.

With Payet's status as a firm favourite among the east Londoners' fanbase assured, he has paid tribute to Cole, who is also well regarded in E13.

Cole spent a brief spell on loan at Lille during the twilight years of his career and Payet has revealed the Englishman provided him with a glowing recommendation of life at West Ham.

“I was lucky enough to play with Joe Cole at Lille," he told Four Four Two.

"When he talked about West Ham you could tell he was speaking from the heart.

"It was obvious how much he loved the club. He would talk about how passionate the supporters are, so it wasn’t a complete step into the unknown when I moved here."

West Ham vs Spurs: 10 memorable Boleyn Ground battles 11 show all West Ham vs Spurs: 10 memorable Boleyn Ground battles 1/11 Boleyn battles With West Ham hosting Tottenham at the Boleyn Ground for the final time on Wednesday, Standard Sport looks back at 10 of the most memorable matches between the two capital clubs in east London… 2014 Getty Images 2/11 West Ham 1-6 Spurs (25/8/1962) The Hammers were humbled as Jimmy Greaves starred for Spurs at the Boleyn Ground, netting twice as the visitors went 6-0 up before West Ham gave their fans something to cheer abut with a late consolation. 3/11 West Ham 4-0 Spurs (8/2/1964) Hammers fans will be hoping for a similar performance to the one their side turned in a little over 52 years ago. Ronnie Boyce, Johnny Byrne, John Sissons and future England World Cup hero Geoff Hurst scored for the Hammers, though the hosts eventually ended up finishing 10 places below Spurs in Division One. 4/11 West Ham 4-3 Spurs (24/2/1997) Current West Ham first-team coach Julian Dicks netted twice for the Hammers on his way to ending the season as the club’s joint-top scorer with Paul Kitson, who also scored in this dramatic match along with Boleyn Ground legend John Hartson. 5/11 West Ham 2-0 Spurs (1/3/2003) Plenty of players have moved between the two clubs in the past, and Les Ferdinand struck the opener having just left Spurs a couple of months beforehand. Michael Carrick then scored the second, though Spurs eventually had the last laugh as they snapped up the midfielder a year later. They then lost him to Manchester United - rinse and repeat. 2003 Getty Images 6/11 West Ham 3-4 Spurs (4/3/2007) West Ham made a dream start as they went into half-time two goals ahead – with Carlos Tevez’s celebration a highlight - and looked to be heading for a win despite a Tottenham fightback as they led 3-2 five minutes from time. But Dimitar Berbatov levelled with a minute to go before Paul Stalteri’s 94th-minute winner plunged the hosts into relegation chaos – only a controversial Tevez winner at Manchester United on the final day saved the Hammers from going down. 2007 Getty Images 7/11 West Ham 2-1 Spurs (7/5/2006) The Hammers beat their London rivals on the final day of the 2005-06 season to painfully deny Tottenham Champions League qualification. Jermain Defoe struck for the visitors against his former club to level things up, but Yossi Benayoun’s late winner was enough to see Spurs – forced to field a host of players still visibly hurting from last-minute food poisoning - miss out on elite continental football to Arsenal. The game was dubbed “Lasagna Gate” by conspiracy theorists, and Spurs may want to pack their own lunchboxes this time around considering their title race with the Gunners… 2006 Getty Images 8/11 West Ham 0-2 Spurs (8/12/2008) This one will bring back fond memories of Ledley King’s time as Tottenham, as the centre-back headed the visitors ahead in the second half before Jamie O’Hara sealed the win. Even the much-maligned Heurelho Gomes was on fine form, though reminiscing about King’s powerful display will have Spurs fans wondering what could have been had the defender’s fitness matched his talent. 2008 Getty Images 9/11 West Ham 2-3 Spurs (25/2/2013) The Hammers gave almost as good as they got, but it wasn’t enough as Gareth Bale scored a last-minute stunner to break hearts at the Boleyn Ground. Bale had put Spurs ahead before Andy Carroll and Joe Cole put the hosts in front, but Gylfi Sigurdsson levelled before in injury-time wonder goal from Bale. Too bad for Spurs that performances like these led to the Welsh wonder signing for Real Madrid that summer. 2013 Getty Images 10/11 West Ham 2-0 Spurs (3/5/2014) This was a happy day for the Hammers as they secured their Premier League safety with one game of the 2013-14 season remaining. Younes Kaboul was dismissed, Harry Kane scored an own goal and Stewart Downing netted to cap a perfect day for the hosts as they ensured their top-flight status for another year. 2014 Getty Images 11/11 West Ham 0-1 Spurs (16/8/2014) Mauricio Pochettino got off to the perfect start as Spurs boss with a win in his first league game in charge of the club. West Ham made Spurs work hard with both sides reduced to 10 men, but Eric Dier struck in the 93rd minute to get his Argentine coach’s reign going – and Spurs haven’t looked back since. 2014 Getty Images 1/11 Boleyn battles With West Ham hosting Tottenham at the Boleyn Ground for the final time on Wednesday, Standard Sport looks back at 10 of the most memorable matches between the two capital clubs in east London… 2014 Getty Images 2/11 West Ham 1-6 Spurs (25/8/1962) The Hammers were humbled as Jimmy Greaves starred for Spurs at the Boleyn Ground, netting twice as the visitors went 6-0 up before West Ham gave their fans something to cheer abut with a late consolation. 3/11 West Ham 4-0 Spurs (8/2/1964) Hammers fans will be hoping for a similar performance to the one their side turned in a little over 52 years ago. Ronnie Boyce, Johnny Byrne, John Sissons and future England World Cup hero Geoff Hurst scored for the Hammers, though the hosts eventually ended up finishing 10 places below Spurs in Division One. 4/11 West Ham 4-3 Spurs (24/2/1997) Current West Ham first-team coach Julian Dicks netted twice for the Hammers on his way to ending the season as the club’s joint-top scorer with Paul Kitson, who also scored in this dramatic match along with Boleyn Ground legend John Hartson. 5/11 West Ham 2-0 Spurs (1/3/2003) Plenty of players have moved between the two clubs in the past, and Les Ferdinand struck the opener having just left Spurs a couple of months beforehand. Michael Carrick then scored the second, though Spurs eventually had the last laugh as they snapped up the midfielder a year later. They then lost him to Manchester United - rinse and repeat. 2003 Getty Images 6/11 West Ham 3-4 Spurs (4/3/2007) West Ham made a dream start as they went into half-time two goals ahead – with Carlos Tevez’s celebration a highlight - and looked to be heading for a win despite a Tottenham fightback as they led 3-2 five minutes from time. But Dimitar Berbatov levelled with a minute to go before Paul Stalteri’s 94th-minute winner plunged the hosts into relegation chaos – only a controversial Tevez winner at Manchester United on the final day saved the Hammers from going down. 2007 Getty Images 7/11 West Ham 2-1 Spurs (7/5/2006) The Hammers beat their London rivals on the final day of the 2005-06 season to painfully deny Tottenham Champions League qualification. Jermain Defoe struck for the visitors against his former club to level things up, but Yossi Benayoun’s late winner was enough to see Spurs – forced to field a host of players still visibly hurting from last-minute food poisoning - miss out on elite continental football to Arsenal. The game was dubbed “Lasagna Gate” by conspiracy theorists, and Spurs may want to pack their own lunchboxes this time around considering their title race with the Gunners… 2006 Getty Images 8/11 West Ham 0-2 Spurs (8/12/2008) This one will bring back fond memories of Ledley King’s time as Tottenham, as the centre-back headed the visitors ahead in the second half before Jamie O’Hara sealed the win. Even the much-maligned Heurelho Gomes was on fine form, though reminiscing about King’s powerful display will have Spurs fans wondering what could have been had the defender’s fitness matched his talent. 2008 Getty Images 9/11 West Ham 2-3 Spurs (25/2/2013) The Hammers gave almost as good as they got, but it wasn’t enough as Gareth Bale scored a last-minute stunner to break hearts at the Boleyn Ground. Bale had put Spurs ahead before Andy Carroll and Joe Cole put the hosts in front, but Gylfi Sigurdsson levelled before in injury-time wonder goal from Bale. Too bad for Spurs that performances like these led to the Welsh wonder signing for Real Madrid that summer. 2013 Getty Images 10/11 West Ham 2-0 Spurs (3/5/2014) This was a happy day for the Hammers as they secured their Premier League safety with one game of the 2013-14 season remaining. Younes Kaboul was dismissed, Harry Kane scored an own goal and Stewart Downing netted to cap a perfect day for the hosts as they ensured their top-flight status for another year. 2014 Getty Images 11/11 West Ham 0-1 Spurs (16/8/2014) Mauricio Pochettino got off to the perfect start as Spurs boss with a win in his first league game in charge of the club. West Ham made Spurs work hard with both sides reduced to 10 men, but Eric Dier struck in the 93rd minute to get his Argentine coach’s reign going – and Spurs haven’t looked back since. 2014 Getty Images

Payet has also described the club's supporters as "crazy" and praised the amount of fans who follow West Ham up and down the country: "The fans are truly crazy about the team and turn up for every game.

“Their passion is incredible. Home and away, they’re always there to support us.

"It doesn’t matter whether we play in London or in the north of England."