And so, we go again. West Ham United U21s are back in east London, with the first week of pre-season underway across our sites at Chadwell Heath and Rush Green.
For Academy players and coaches, after a long season, the welcome rest is over and the focus turns to 2023/24.
“It's probably the longest off-season I have had while I’ve been here,” Keenan Appiah-Forson laughs, as the breaks between seasons seem shorter than ever over the past few seasons, “but we’re back in and we are ready to get to work!
“It’s a time to focus on getting fit, work on our technical side as well so we are all ready for the season.”
The first couple of days have been a chance for the team to re-group, catch up, and introduce new signings. There have been medical and physical checks before the players hit the pitch for a tough few weeks to get up to speed for the August starting line.
Yes, there has been time for a few games of football tennis, but the first week back saw double sessions across the week. Fitness, fitness and well, more fitness.
As lead coach Mark Robson states: “The players put a lot of effort in across pre-season, but because of the break [between seasons] being shorter, they are already in decent shape. The main thing now is preparing ourselves for the season and finding a level where we can perform consistently.”
Jacob Knightbridge agrees. “It hasn’t been too hot, which has been nice,” the goalkeeper explains, alluding to the intensive training sessions.
“It’s nice to have a few weeks off but you want to get straight back to it. You miss being with the boys and playing football in general so it’s good to be back! We’re still only getting into it, but we are all ready to attack the new season.”
And that should be the case too. One look at the talent in the U21s’ ranks for 2023/24, and it is clear that this season promises to be an enthralling one for Robson and his staff.
Not least because many players to have starred at PL2 last season have been given the chance to train and play with the first team over the past year. After all, who could forget that night at FCSB last November, where an incredible 13 Academy graduates were involved in a 3-0 win?
Then we later saw Divin Mubama and Kaelan Casey involved in Premier League squads, with the former making his top-flight debut against Arsenal on Boxing Day last year.
As has always been the case in east London, there is a route to the top from the Academy of Football. And 2023/34 looks set to be no different.
“We had some success last year, with players making that step up,” explains Robson," so hopefully we can do that again.”
Of course, that will be the aim, and, as such, there is plenty of buzz around Chadwell Heath and Rush Green as pre-season gets underway.
The first week of training is just the start of what is set to be another memorable campaign for the Academy of Football.