This is David Moyes’ favourite time of year.
The sun is shining, the pitches are lush and green, the training kit is new and fresh and the players and staff are full of energy and optimism.
The pressures of winning Premier League points and cup matches can wait, with all focus on getting the players fit and securing transfer targets for the upcoming campaign.
With three new players – Nayef Aguerd, Alphonse Areola and Flynn Downes – already signed and more to follow, and the experienced Mark Warburton adding depth and knowledge to his backroom team, Moyes is looking forward to the challenges that await his West Ham United at home and abroad in 2022/23.
Speaking as the Irons’ pre-season training camp in the French town of Évian-les-Bains comes to a close, Moyes spoke positively about his squad’s preparations, his new recruits, his enduring love for the Beautiful Game and more in an exclusive interview with West Ham TV…
Gaffer, here we are in Évian and it’s great to be back doing what we all love?
“It is and it’s a great setting. We’re here and we’re really enjoying it and we’re coming to the end of our second week now, so the players we’ve had back at the moment are all looking good and in pretty good condition. It’s a beautiful place we’re at and we’re all enjoying the sunshine, as you can see.”
As they were in St Andrews the previous week, the facilities in Évian-les-Bains are really good and it seems the players have really taken to them?
“I always think you want to treat your players well and you want to give them the best you think you can and I do, because they have earnt it. But also they should appreciate it as well. The Club have been good and they have got us a couple of really good areas for us to train. We were up at St Andrews, which we really enjoy and in coming out here as well has given us a break. We’ve been at Rush Green a lot over the last few years and not really had a chance to get away anywhere, so we’ve had five days in Scotland, we’ve had five days here in France, so hopefully they will appreciate it and we’ll benefit from it.”
The pre-season matches start on Friday evening at Servette in Switzerland, so how do you see that fixture?
“We don’t have any international players here yet because they’re all returning back, so we mustn’t mustn’t forget that we’re here sort of half-cooked at the moment, trying to get everybody back, get them fit, get them ready for the season the start. So, yeah, we’ve got we’ve got a lot of young boys here, we’re hoping to give them some playing team [on Friday], and we’re hoping to give them some playing time in midweek when we’ve got a couple of games as well [at Boreham Wood and Ipswich Town] so hopefully it’s good for them. They started back four or five days before us, so hopefully they’ll be in a slightly better condition. The preseason games matter, but they’re still only there for the purpose of getting the players fit and ready for the new season.”
You will have the full squad back together at Rush Green on Monday, when you can take the work up a level?
“Well those boys have started already [on Thursday]. They’re back now, so they’ll be training there. We’re not brought them out with us for the last couple of days, but we’ll have everybody back together on Monday, but only to just take more time with those boys because they’re not that long finished playing. We’re still sort of recovering them, but yet trying to pick them back up again.”
Two of those coming into Rush Green are goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who is returning on a permanent basis, and the defender Nayef Aguerd, who we hope will add quality to the squad?
“Well, we hope so as that’s what we do. When we sign players, we hope that they come and they’re all going to add something. We need them to add value to what we’ve already got. We hope they improve what we’ve got as well, that’s a big thing. So, I think Nayef will help us and I think he’ll give us something else. We missed a little bit of natural left-sided balance last year, especially when Angelo [Ogbonna] got injured, so we’re hoping he does that. He’s a player we’ve been looking at for a year or two, so we’re glad to have him.”
And a third new signing is Flynn Downes, a young midfield player who happens to be a West Ham fan?
“We think he’s got good energy. We think he’s got a lot of things which we have about our team, which would want to keep and want to add to. I’m looking forward to it. We brought Jarrod Bowen from a similar situation at Hull, so we’re always trying to find boys from the Championship who we think are going to step up to become Premier League players. I’m hoping that Flynn does. I think there’s a good chance as he’s got an awful lot of good attributes and he’s young enough as well.”
The new players will also work with a new staff member in Mark Warburton?
“I’m pleased to have Mark. I mean, I’m sad that I lost Stuart Pearce and I was really sad when I lost Alan Irvine. I’ve had two really good guys, incredibly loyal, great people to work with and also their knowledge and their experience was great for me. I wanted similar somebody who I felt was similar and Mark comes with great experience. He’s managed a lot of really big clubs and obviously he became out of work so after Pearcey told me he was leaving, I thought ‘well, I’m going have to look around to see what I think would be good for us’. And because of my staff, I want to piece in someone who adds value to it as well, someone who can bring something else and I think his understanding of having been a recent manager working in the Championship, knowing a lot about the Championship as well, will be helpful. But for him as well it will be step up where we’re competing at the top of the Premier League and aiming to stay there, so he’s taking a little bit of time to settle in, standing back and watching what we’re doing, getting to know the players and getting to know how we work.”
Łukasz Fabiański has signed a new contract, too?
“Łukasz has been great and I thought he played particularly well last season, so we always had planned that we would keep Łukasz, so we’re happy to do that. His competition will come stronger this year because of Alphonse signing and it’s good. I think we need competition. We’ve got a lot of games to play and you saw how it was last year. We’re expecting to go as far, if not further next year in a lot of the competitions, so we’re going to need these players.”
You can see how you’re bouncing around the training pitch and loving the job?
“I love the work and for a manager this is probably the best time because there’s less stress and pressure on you, you can be a little bit more chilled out. But it’s still a busy time and everybody knows we’re trying really hard to add to the squad. We’ve been making offers for players, some have been getting accepted and some haven’t been, but that’s where the sort of little bit the pressure comes at this time of the year, trying to get those players in that you’d like to add to the squad.”
