Neil McDonald is delighted with the lads fitness  following the summer break.

ASnd he believes the first couple of days of training have gone well particularly as they enjoy the ” fantastic” camp in France which is ‘home’ for a week.

Macca said: “The players were in on Thursday just to make sure they were alright. We gave them a little bit of a running session and a feel of the ball, but Friday was the first time they’ve passed and moved and they all looked quite good.

“They’ve had seven to eight weeks off but they’ve come back looking really good.

Everybody’s body composition and weight is very good, so we’re really pleased with that and it sets us up for the pre-season – six, seven weeks leading into the first game.”

He added: “The first week is always very important to build up a base and make sure that everyone can get through 45 minutes, which they will do at Stevenage next Saturday.

Speaking to West Ham TV he said: “It’s a gradual build-up, to train to a tempo that was set for the first week, making sure we have no injuries and that everyone’s ready for the Stevenage game.

“They will be doing a lot of sessions each day, whether that’s with the ball or without the ball – a lot of stretching, a lot of core work, weights, building that body up and making it strong again to make sure they can do the work and do the distance.

It’s getting the minds thinking as well, we’re trying to work on everything, it does take time but we’ll be ready for the first game.”

New boys Mauro Zarate, Cheikhou Kouyate and Aaron Cresswell will also have the chance to mix with their new teammates this week and McDonald is sure they will fit into the group well.

He added: “It’s vitally important that the new boys get to know the lads and the lads get to know what they can do. It’s a gradual build-up and the lads have to get to know each other, what their strengths and weakneses are.

“The new lads will integrate very well, we’ve got a good bunch who want to help each other and drive each other on, and that’s what we need to do.”