Roy's Tour Report

GOALKEEPER Roy Carroll may not have featured so far on the tour of Sweden, but the Hammers recent signing from Manchester United believes it has been a success for him and the Hammers squad.

The 27-year-old is unlikely to play in the Hammers final game of their pre-season tour against Västra Frölunda IF tomorrow as Pards is keen to give Slovakian trialist Juraj Bucek another game to show what he can do.

But Roy has enjoyed his time with the squad in Sweden and insists preparations are going well for the new season.

"It's been good for the lads to get away and get some good training and match practice under their belts," he said. "For me as a new player coming into the squad, this has been a good opportunity to get to know the lads and do some good work as a squad.

"We've got less than a month now to the new season kicks-off and we know this is going to be an intense period leading up to the first game. "It's been hard work out here. The training has been tough and the matches have come at us pretty quickly. But the team has stood up well, and I think that is proved by two very good performances in our last two matches."

Roy has come to Upton Park with plenty of Premiership experience from his time with Manchester United, and will give up any part of it if it helps the younger players in the squad adapt to life in the top-flight.

"My experience is hopefully something I can bring to the team to help us," he said. "The Premier League will be a new experience for many of the players here, but I've been impressed with the level of quality in the squad.

"We have top players in most positions and the compeititon for places is going to be tight when the season does come around."

No more so than in goal, where Roy will be pushed all the way by Stephen Bywater for his place.

"Competition is good for the Club," he said. "As a new player you can't just come to a club and expect to walk into the team. "Stephen is a very good goalkeeper and whoever plays will have to do very well to keep his place in the team.

"My aim is to just give it my all in training, and hopefully impress the manager enough to get selected. "I haven't played in pre-season yet, but I feel like things have gone well for me in training and if I can get a few games later on then hopefully I can show what I can do.

"But the main thing we've achieved over here is some good fitness work. We're getting stronger, we've made good progress, and everyone is looking forward to the start of the new season."