Massive Hammers fans turnout Down Under

Hundreds of fans Down Under arrived in Perth to pay a welcome to the Hammers as they made their way to their hotel last night.

The Hammers will be in the city for a week staung at the Crown Towers hotel,  a few hundred metres from Optus Stadium, where they will meet Perth Glory and Tottenham Hotspur in two pre-season matches.

The Irons – besides spreading the Hammers brand – will remain in Western Australia for the next week, meeting fans, attending community events and civic functions, training at Macedonia Park in the suburb of Stirling.

Before all that, the UEFA Europa Conference League winners stepped off their flight and happily signed autographs and posed for photographs with the Claret and Blue Army.

Among them were Canning Town-born expatriate Neil Thompson and his son Reilly, and his Australian friend Tom Fraser, all of whom were dressed in retro West Ham kit.

Thompson said: “It’s incredible, we’re so happy the boys are here! It’s nearly 30 years since they came here last, when I was only six years old, so to be able to bring my boy, who is seven, to his first West Ham game here is just so exciting.

“For us, the final was on at 4am and at the end we were crying! There are no words to describe how we felt, so have them here now is just incredible. West Ham are massive in Perth and everywhere I go when I wear a shirt, I get stopped and asked where I’m from!”

Many of those who were at Crown Towers will be at Macedonia Park for an open training session on Thursday morning, and at Optus Stadium for two fixtures they never thought they would witness on Australian turf.