New signing Ryan Fredericks is relishing life at West Ham United and is excited to see what the season holds after his first ten days with the Club.
Fredericks, who joined from Fulham, was Manuel Pellegrini’s first signing at the Hammers this summer, and has been hard at work with the squad during the pre-season camp in Switzerland.
The right-back has worked closely with the experienced Chilean and his coaching team over the last two weeks and has been struck by Pellegrini’s ambition for the Irons.
“Pellegrini knows what he wants,” Fredericks told West Ham TV. “He’s an experienced man and he knows how he wants to set up his team.
Pellegrini knows what he wants. He thinks, with the right squad, we can be at the better end of the table, and the lads are fully with him on that.
Ryan Fredericks
“It’s not his vision just to stay in the league. He thinks, with the right squad, we can be at the better end of the table, and the lads are fully with him on that. He really wants us all to change our mind-sets from last year, from not winning too much to being winners on the pitch, even if it’s in training. He wants the team to win.”
Fredericks and his new teammates have been worked hard by Pellegrini during their stay in Bad Ragaz, with the players building up their fitness ahead of the new season.
The 25-year-old thinks the quick start to pre-season will only prove beneficial for the campaign ahead, with the side concentrating on building play from the defensive line.
“Normally, pre-season starts a bit slower,” he explained. “But the coaches have thrown us straight into the deep end. I think that’s the best way really. There’s been a lot of fitness stuff. Everyone has had a while off so we all need to get back up to speed.
“We’ve focused a lot on the defensive stuff. It’s well known that, as a team, we conceded a few too many goals last season, so the manager wants to patch that up. He wants us to build from the back as well, quick one touch passes, and then get the ball into the attacking third and get the business done up there.”
Since Fredericks joined West Ham, another four players have put pen to paper with the Club, with Issa Diop, Lukasz Fabianski, Jack Wilshere and Andriy Yarmolenko also moving to London Stadium.
The defender is delighted with the calibre of player joining the side.
Fredericks continued: “The squad we are putting together looks promising. Jack is well known in the Premier League. He has a lot of quality and he is great on the ball.
“Issa is a man mountain! He’s a big, strong, no nonsense defender, but he’s good on the ball as well. Fabianski is well known in the Premier League as well. He made some great saves for Swansea last season, although he couldn’t keep them up, but their loss is our gain
“I’ve seen clips of Andriy over the last few years. He’s a tricky winger and I’m not looking forward to training against him in the one vs ones! But his quality is only going to add to the team.”
A first showing in the Claret and Blue was handed to Fredericks on Sunday, with the right-back playing 45 minutes against FC Winterthur in Pellegrini’s first game in charge.
“My debut was tough,” Fredericks admitted. “It was very hot out there and Winterthur are a few weeks ahead of us, fitness wise.
“Obviously, we’re not going to hit the ground running in that sense. We’re not going to have that quality that we had at the back end of last season or a few weeks ago. It’s just a fitness thing at the moment.
“It’s about not picking up any injuries, growing fitter and stronger, so we can take that into the season, starting against Liverpool in the second week of August.”
