For Harrison Ashby and his fellow West Ham United Academy youngsters, the first team training camp in St Andrews has provided them with a wonderful opportunity.
Ashby has joined the likes of Aji Alese, Manny Longelo, Pierre Ekwah, Conor Coventry, Armstrong Okoflex, Freddie Potts and Krisztián Hegyi in training with their more experienced colleagues throughout the week in Scotland – and the right-back says it has been an invaluable experience.
The 20-year-old made his Premier League debut in the Hammers’ away game at Arsenal last December, and also featured in the UEFA Europa League and Carabao Cup in an unforgettable 2021/22 campaign.
Having had that taste of first team action, he is keen to ensure he makes the most of his chance to train under the watchful eye of David Moyes and his staff this summer.
“These experiences are great for us, because obviously we get to know the first team boys better, from being around them throughout the camp,” he explained.
“It’s a good group to come into as well and for young players like us, there are people like Dec and Ben Johnson to look up to – players who have come from where we are and they are a great example for us to follow.
“There are plenty of players with big experience here too, people like Angelo Ogbonna, Craig Dawson and Aaron Cresswell who have all played so many Premier League games, and training with them day-in, day-out, being able to ask them questions and gaining from their knowledge is a massive benefit for us.”
The Hammers’ U23s players returned to pre-season a week before the senior pros, giving Ashby and his teammates the opportunity to get up to speed ahead of travelling to Scotland, and he says that was a huge help in being able to hit the ground running.
“I’m feeling pretty fresh to be honest,” he added. “We had a week leading into this, which prepared us well and it’s really positive. I haven’t got any niggles or anything.
“It’s always good to be prepared for the beginning of pre-season – coming in a week early was great for getting the legs ticking over and making sure we were ready for a hard week.
“I enjoy the variety of sessions we get up here, the beach runs, that part of it – I’m a player who actually enjoys pre-season because you see yourself improve session on session and as the weeks go on.”
Last season was a successful one for the Academy – the U23s and U18s both finished as runners-up in their respective leagues, while Ashby joined seven fellow graduates in playing the Europa League match against Dinamo Zagreb in December.
The Scotland U21 international says that left his group hungry for more as the Hammers get set for another campaign which sees them compete at home and abroad.
He added: “It was a great year for the Academy – we had the game where lots of us played against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League and there were Premier League debuts too. Everyone pushes each other to do better – even in the running, someone does better than you and you want to do better than him.
“Hopefully there’ll be chances for us again this season and we have to be ready for them whenever they come.
“Myself, I’m just going to work hard and do the best that I can and see where it takes me.”
