West Ham United are officially up and running for the new season with the first day of testing completed at a sunny Chadwell Heath.
Under the watchful eye of manager Sam Allardyce, assistant manager Neil McDonald and first-team coach Wally Downes, the players were put through their paces by fitness coach Eamon Swift. It was a full day's work, with the players quickly putting their holiday stories behind them to focus on the task in hand.
There were high spirits over breakfast just after 9am when the first to arrive including Luis Boa Morte, Herita Ilunga, Freddie Piquionne, Ruud Boffin and Julien Faubert gathered in the canteen.
Once kit was sorted and trainers were on, it was time to start in the indoor pitch facility, with Mark Noble his usual lively self from the word go along with some of the club's promising youngsters including George Moncur and Jordan Spence also involved.
Not all the squad were present with the likes of England duo Robert Green and Scott Parker given an extended break as well as other internationals including Pablo Barrera and Jack Collison.
Then it was boots on for some outside work on the pitches which have been carefully renovated during the summer break, where the players were given another set of drills to work through.
New signing Kevin Nolan had taken the opportunity earlier last month to visit the training ground and continued his fitness work with a rigorous session out in the gym before joining his new team-mates on the lush green pitches.
Meanwhile, the club can confirm that coaches Paul Groves and David Coles have left the club. West Ham United would like to thank them for their efforts and wish them well in future.
whufc.com will have more reaction to come from the first day back, as well as an exclusive picture gallery from behind the scenes. Check out a special video now on West Ham TV.
