Carlton Cole says West Ham United’s players will be eager to impress new manager Manuel Pellegrini when they return for pre-season training on Monday.
The Hammers will assemble at Rush Green for medical screening before flying to Switzerland for an eleven-day camp, where Pellegrini and his backroom staff will put them through double and triple sessions to instill the base fitness to sustain them for the Premier League campaign ahead.
And Cole, who took part in pre-season training under no fewer than five different managers during his nine-year Hammers career, says the current squad will be ready to show the Chilean what they can do.
Pellegrini has come in and you want to come in and impress the new manager, as you don’t want to be cut from the team, do you!
Carlton Cole
“Of course, the players look forward to coming back for pre-season training, as they want to get the nitty gritty stuff out of the way and then get down to the new season,” he told whufc.com.
“They’ll be meeting a new manager and new players and making sure that they’re in tip-top form and tip-top shape to begin the new season. It’s always good to come back from your holidays and head straight into pre-season.”
Cole also explained that some players will literally be playing for their West Ham futures over the coming weeks, with Pellegrini expected to make further additions to a squad that has already been bolstered by the arrivals of Lukasz Fabianski, Issa Diop and Ryan Fredericks.
“Pellegrini has come in and you want to come in and impress the new manager, as you don’t want to be cut from the team, do you!” smiled the former striker, who scored 68 goals in 293 appearances in Claret and Blue.
“You’ve got to come in and the ones who weren’t playing last season will want to come in and do well and impress him, because they don’t want to get cut loose.
“You want to be on his good side and you just want to come in and do well for yourself. The manager will have his plans, but the players need to come in and perform well in training and in matches.”
Cole was in the squad the last time West Ham visited Switzerland back in July 2011, appearing in a 2-1 Uhren Cup defeat by FC Basel in Grenchen.
The Hammers will return to the Alps next week, when they will train 500 metres above sea level in the canton of St. Gallen in the far east of the country, and the 34-year-old says the altitude training will benefit the players
“We might as well stay in England, it’s so hot at the moment!” he laughed. “The altitude running is obviously very important for the breathing and the fitness and you can get more done quickly.
“What I would say is that the players will come ready to go and do well for the season.”