As West Ham United gear up for their hotly-anticipated Premier League opener away at Sunderland on Saturday, watch as Head Coach Graham Potter and captain Jarrod Bowen reflect on a hugely positive pre-season campaign that has featured trips to Germany and the USA, as well as plenty of hard work at Rush Green.
After enjoying a well-deserved summer break following the 2024/25 season, the players first reported back for training on Monday 7 July, a week before embarking on a training camp in the Black Forest that concluded with an impressive 3-1 win over Grasshopper Club Zürich in Switzerland.
From there, the Irons continued their on and off-field endeavours during a 12-day, three-city visit to the USA, where they recorded a second-place finish in the Premier League Summer Series following a narrow loss to Manchester United and victories over Everton and AFC Bournemouth.
For Potter and Bowen, the most important aspect of pre-season has been preparing the team to peak against the Mackems this weekend, and both discuss at length how the tactical understanding and family feel inside the dressing room have signficiantly developed over the course of the last few weeks.
Certainly, there were plenty of encouraging signs during last Saturday's penalty-shootout victory over French outfit LOSC Lille at London Stadium - their third pre-season win in a row - and Potter's men will be fully focused on kickstarting 2025/26 with a bang on Wearside.
Go behind the pre-season scenes by clicking on the video player above.
