West Ham United U21s may be enjoying the scenic backdrop of Portugal in the coming days but Keenan Appiah-Forson is in no doubt of what the trip has to be about.
Mark Robson’s developmental Hammers have begun six days of intense, pre-season training in the Grândola Municipality of Tróia after travelling to Portugal on Monday.
The young Irons were immediately put through their paces on the training fields and return to work on Tuesday for a double session.
Midfielder Appiah-Forson is loving the beautiful surroundings that Tróia provides for this week’s training camp, but insists everyone is focused on putting in the work necessary.
“It’s been very productive,” he told whufc.com. “We’ve arrived in Portugal in good spirits and were straight out to work after lunch. It was a good session, and a good way to start the week. We want to keep that up every day.
“I’ve never been to Portugal before. It’s a really nice place and we’ve got wonderful facilities and incredible weather here. What more do we want? We just need to maintain our fitness, do the hard work, and prepare for the game against Sporting Lisbon on Saturday.”
Appiah-Forson was part of the contingent of development Academy stars to work alongside David Moyes’ first team squad in Scotland at St. Andrew’s last week, an experience the 20-year-old is grateful for.
The midfielder is now eager to take his learnings from last week into this week’s training ahead of another exciting season in Claret and Blue.
“Scotland was a good experience. It was great to get the chance to train with the first team. It was about getting back into business.
“I’m feeling strong. I kept doing work in the off-season so I’m feeling fit and ready to go. I’m mentally and physically ready. I’m focused and I want to push on this year.”
