Mark Warburton lauded the fitness levels and competitive spirit of West Ham United’s players following a hard-fought 2-1 pre-season win at Ipswich Town.
The Hammers were pushed hard by Kieran McKenna’s EFL League One promotion hopefuls in front of a large crowd on a hot and humid night at Portman Road, but held off their hosts through goals from Kurt Zouma and Daniel Chesters and a determined rearguard effort in the closing stages of a draining contest.
Just over two weeks into pre-season, the Irons’ starters completed 90 minutes on a balmy evening in Suffolk, where McKenna had replaced all ten of his outfield players by the hour-mark.
Nonetheless, West Ham stuck to their individual and collective tasks to beat an Ipswich side which finished last season in superb form and will kick-off 2022/23 as one of the favourites to reach Championship.
That pleased first-team coach Warburton, who assisted David Moyes at Portman Road while Paul Nevin, Billy McKinlay and Kevin Nolan oversaw a 1-1 draw at National League outfit Boreham Wood on the same night.
It was a very important night for us.
We got 90 minutes in the senior boys’ legs and the young ones contributed as well, which is important as they’ve worked hard in St Andrews and last week in France.
It was good to see that tonight and, as I said, important to see the seniors get that work into their legs and now as the games start to ramp up and increase, I’m sure the manager will start to prioritise positions, but it was really pleasing tonight.
It was a real test [after Ipswich replaced all eleven players] and that’s the concentration and the focus, dealing with fatigue, managing the game and making good decisions – all of these are vital preparation for the season which will come around so quickly.
That was pleasing from so many aspects – the young boys had a chance to stake their claim and it was important to see the likes of Cressy, Mickey and Kurt and the boys all over the park get their 90 minutes into their legs.
That’s vitally important now and we have Reading on Saturday and Rangers next Tuesday so the games start to ramp up now and we have to be prepared for each and every challenge.
It’s all about the build-up, but don’t forget the importance of winning as well because it becomes a habit.
We went to Servette last Friday night, a team three or four weeks ahead of us in their preparation, and it could easily have been a banana skin but the boys coped very well and found a way to win.
Likewise, we came here tonight against a team who finished last season very strongly and with half our team in Boreham Wood and half the team here and again the team found a way to win the game of football and that’s an important habit.
Yes, it’s about preparation and conditioning but never lose sight of the fact we want to win games as well.
For me, obviously meeting the boys for the first time and with the international boys coming back I’ve been very impressed by their approach, their attitude and their work ethic but also their camaraderie within squad.
You can see there is a genuine friendship and respect in the squad.
I am new coming in from the outside so I’m always looking around and making a mental note, but I’m very impressed by those players.
We trained as a group on Tuesday morning and again the standard they set was very high.