nightclubs to take his mind off his injuries and the boredom of not playing football. At these venues he was introduced to cocaine to which he became addicted. McAvennie was fully fit for the 1990–91 season. His first goal in his second spell for West Ham and his first since April 1987 game on 29 August 1990 in a 1–1 home game against Portsmouth; the second game of the season. West Ham won promotion from the Second Division and reached the 1990–91 FA Cup semi-finals. He played 34 league games and scored 10 goals, now partnering Trevor Morley up front (his previous West Ham strike partner Tony Cottee had departed to Everton in August 1988). The 1991–92 season was a disappointing one for both West Ham and McAvennie. He scored only three league goals in the first half of the season with West Ham never out of the bottom three after Christmas. He also faced competition for a regular place from new signing Mike Small. On 2 May 1992, he signed off in style at West Ham, scoring a hat-trick in his final match against Nottingham Forest having come on as a substitute for Mitchell Thomas. West Ham had already been relegated in 22nd and bottom place. His tally in a frustrating season for both the player and the club was just six goals from 20 league games. Aston Villa McAvennie then accepted an offer from Ron Atkinson to sign for Aston Villa on a free transfer, but played just three games in the new Premier League, as the partnership of Dalian Atkinson and early season signing Dean Saunders saw Villa emerge as title challengers. Villa finally finished runners-up to Manchester United. McAvennie did not score for Villa. He left in January 1993 to rejoin Celtic, who were now lagging behind a dominant Rangers side on their way to a fifth successive league title. Cliftonville and South China McAvennie played one game for Irish League club Cliftonville in 1992, scoring in a County Antrim Shield semi-final. McAvennie was then offered a contract with Hong Kong side South China. Despite being well received by the local fans and management, he found the standard of football to be unchallenging. He played only one senior game for South China, then he returned to the United Kingdom. Back to Celtic On hearing of his exit from Hong Kong, John Lambie agreed terms with McAvennie