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."
Roy's Tour Report
18th July 2005