West Ham United U18s lead Coach Kevin Keen has seen the Club evolve dramatically since he arrived as a player in 1986.
The former Hammers midfielder amassed over 250 appearances in Claret and Blue in seven seasons, before returning to the club as a coach in 2002. In his first spell in the dugout, Keen spent nine years working in a number of roles at youth team, reserve team and first team level.
Since Keen’s departure in 2011, The Academy Training Centre at Chadwell Heath has undergone significant re-development, and the new facility was re-opened by Sir Trevor Brooking earlier this year. The state-of-the-art complex has already left an impression on Keen since his return to West Ham back in July.
“It’s great to be back,” said Keen “It’s been fantastic to go back to Chadwell Heath and see the new training ground – I’d not been back here for seven years. There’ve been amazing changes – what facilities for the players to play on.”
The lads are there every day reminded of what it is to be a West Ham player, and Chadwell Heath has been transformed into just an amazing, up-to-date training facility that the lads need to make the most of.
Kevin Keen
“It’s a completely different environment now. We had a lot of portacabins, and everyone was more or less on that site. All of a sudden, we’ve got an environment, a building, that’s just for the U18s and younger, and it’s absolutely amazing.”
Keen spoke of the importance for the Academy youngsters to understand the history of the Club.
“We’ve got representations of the history with people like Sir Trevor Brooking, Martin Peters and Alvin Martin – people who’ve played a lot of games through the Club having come through the Academy – on the walls, making sure the lads are aware of that, as well as the more recent ones like Mark Noble and Declan Rice.”
“The lads are there every day reminded of what it is to be a West Ham player, and Chadwell Heath has been transformed into just an amazing, up-to-date training facility that the lads need to make the most of.”
Having spent 19 seasons in total at the Club as a player and a coach, Keen’s style of management has been influenced by some Hammers greats.
“As a coach, as a player, it was ingrained in me: to play in a West Ham way. As a coach, I coach that way. I learnt so much off John Lyall, Tony Carr, people who had a big effect on me as a coach, and I bring a lot of their ideas, a lot of their sessions, certainly their way of doing things to the Club.”
The U18s have found the net at least once in every match so far this season, with Keen eager to continue the club’s philosophy of attacking football.
“I want to make sure that those boys who are under me and Mark Phillips (U18s Assistant Coach) get that training, get that understanding of playing forward, running forward, playing for the badge, playing for the team, being on the half-turn, little things that run through the West Ham philosophy. They’re really, really important.”
