West Ham United assistant manager Neil McDonald was pleased with what he deemed as another good workout for the Hammers in the 1-1 draw at Boreham Wood on Tuesday night.
Sam Baldock scored for the second consecutive pre-season friendly to put Hammers ahead before the home side equalised just after the break.
"It was a good work-out," said McDonald. "Although it would have been nice to have won, it is not about results, it is about building up the fitness, building up the endurance as well, something which we have been working hard on for the last week and a half.
"I thought it was a really, really good 45 minutes for the first-team boys and now we move on to more training for the rest of the week and look forward to getting another game under our belts on Saturday against Southend."
The Hammers played a different XI for each half to allow the senior players a good run-out, as well letting younger players grab a chance including former Wood player Pelly Ruddock, who captained the side for the first 45 minutes against his former club.
With Southend United up next for the Hammers on Saturday, followed by matches at Oxford United and Colchester United within the next ten days, preparation for the new season is already in full flow.
"We have come back a bit earlier than others. We had a fairly good break and we wanted to come back and make sure that every player hits the ground running. You can space it all the sessions out nicely and no one gets stale.
"We want to come in, work them hard, give them a little bit of rest and then work them again. Let's hope the strategy works in the first game against Aston Villa."
McDonald was pleased to also be able to offer some game time to next generation of Hammers stars. Ruddock was joined in the first half by Jake Larkins, George Moncur, Matthias Fanimo and Callum Driver.
"It was great to give some of the younger boys some game time. Pelly came from Boreham Wood last year and he has settled down at the club well. It was good experience for him to captain the side in the first half against the club he used to play for."
James Tomkins and new signing Mohamed Diame were two of the absentees due to the pair being called up to represent Great Britain and Senegal respectively at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Although not available for the Hammers during that time, McDonald is happy that both players will be up to speed before the start of the season.
"It is okay them both being there - they are going to be playing quality games in a quality competition. They will be playing in front of huge crowds. It is not as if they are away and not training so pre-season will be good for them and I think it will be a feel-good factor for everybody when they come back.
"No matter how they get on, the other players will be asking them about the whole experience. That feeling will re-bound and will energise everyone and be good for when we start."
