West Ham United returned home to London Stadium as the squad stepped up preparations for Monday’s Premier League visit of Huddersfield Town.
Manager Slaven Bilic put his players – including the returning Andy Carroll and Winston Reid – through their paces under sunny east London skies on Saturday morning.
And with a second session planned on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Sunday afternoon, the Hammers will be feeling right at home when they step out to face the Terriers in front of a sell-out 57,000 crowd worldwide television audience.
“It’s going to be nice to be out here in front of our fans,” said Reid, who scored a memorable last-gasp winner against Sunderland at London Stadium last season. “We obviously haven’t been at home in the first few rounds, so it’s going to be especially nice to return home.
In pictures: Hammers return to London Stadium
“Our home form is going to be important and we want to do much better here than we did last year. We will go into Monday’s game well-prepared and hopefully we’ll have a good game and get the win we need.
“I think the way we finished last year at home was acceptable, but we want to build on moments like beating Spurs and we can do that by getting a win here. We know having the fans behind us is massive and we really need them on Monday night.”
Michail Antonio scored West Ham’s first-ever Premier League goal at London Stadium eleven months ago, when he headed the Hammers to victory over AFC Bournemouth.
The No30 is set to start on Monday evening and is eyeing another landmark goal as he and his teammates return to action on home turf.
“It’s nice to be back on our home pitch,” he confirmed. “We have had a couple of tough away matches, so it’s good to be home and hopefully we can do well for the fans.
“It would definitely be nice to get the first goal of the season again, especially as I’ve not got one this season yet, so it’d be nice to get one in our first game at home.
“The fans always bring it, so ‘Come on you Irons!’.”
*Standard Tickets for West Ham United’s Premier League home opener with Huddersfield Town on Monday 11 September at 8pm are available now via the Ticket Exchange.