West Ham co-chairman David Gold is hoping the lack of Europa League football next season will allow the Hammers squad to hit the ground running in August.
The last two seasons have seen the team return early for pre-season training in order to prepare themselves for the qualifying rounds of the European competition. Writing in a column for the club’s official website, Gold said he thinks the lack of Europe could help West Ham’s injury situation:
“Of course, we would love to be competing in Europe next season, but after two years of returning early from the summer break to play competitive Europa League football in July, this year we have a full rest period and a regular schedule before the Premier League campaign begins.”
“And we must take advantage of that.It will give us an opportunity to ensure that the injured players have the time and patience they need to recover fully in time for pre-season.”
The Hammers have suffered a succession of major injuries over the course of the campaign. Diafra Sakho, Andy Carroll, Michail Antonio, Angelo Ogbonna, Gokhan Tore and a number of others have suffered long term injuries, and West Ham fans will be hopeful that history doesn’t repeat itself next season.
Whether the number of fitness problems were caused by the lack of rest before the start of the campaign as suggested by Gold, or due to Slaven Bilic’s coaching methods, we will find out soon enough.
