First Team

West Ham touch down in Spain for training camp

 

West Ham United touched down in southern Spain for a five-day training camp on Monday evening.

Manuel Pellegrini has taken his squad to a region he knows well, returning to Malaga, where he managed the city's football club in La Liga between 2010-13.

The Hammers boss and his staff will put the players through their paces, with the first session taking place on Tuesday morning, before they return to England at the weekend to step up preparations for next Friday's Premier League fixture with Fulham at London Stadium.

Speaking after Saturday's 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace, Pellegrini said a training camp was the best way to use a free weekend following West Ham's elimination from the Emirates FA Cup and insisted the squad will benefit from the change in environment ahead of the final dozen matches of the campaign.

“We are going to do a training camp out of England, in Spain,” the manager confirmed. “I said after we lost at Wimbledon that we wanted to continue in the FA Cup, that was our intention, but we couldn’t do it, and in another way it is good for some players that are playing too many games since the beginning of the season.

“We continue with eight players injured, so I think this stop next weekend will be very useful for us.

“We are not going to go on holiday. We are going to work there, maybe in better weather than here. Also, to take them out some days is good for the group, so there are a lot of things that helped me decide to take the team there.”