West Ham travel north of the border for their penultimate pre-season fixture this afternoon against a Rangers side looking to kick off their own season next Friday against Dundee United. It will be the Hammers’ toughest test yet as the Glasgow side are ahead of West Ham’s fitness timetable.
Nuno’s young side will still be without Internationals Diouf and Alvarez who participated in the World Cup but will be looking to build on their Southend 1 -1 draw and impressive 5 – 0 dismantling of League One side Stevenage last week.
The only worry last week was the fitness of Airidas Golambecks who played in both pre-season fixtures but looked to have sustained an ankle injury in a bad landing that forced his substitution late on. However West Ham’s training gallery for the Scotland trip shows the good news of Golambeckis in full training alongside colleagues.
Airidas Golambecks shown back in full training with seemingly no ill effects from his bad landing at Stevenage
With Todibo planning an exit and Axel Disasi long since departed, centre back is a key area for Nuno with just the two front line players. Should Mavropanos or Kilman sustain a preseason knock, Golambeckis could be in line for a rapid promotion until and unless West Ham finally get their transfer market act together with just a couple of weeks to go before the serious stuff begins.
It’s not an ideal situation for Nuno and he’ll be as keen as supporters are to see the centre-back, midfield and left wing situations resolved with players coming into the club over the coming days.
An eighteen year old thrust into the first team- Golambeckis- might make a good news story but it doesn’t bode well for the season if the Irons start with gaping holes across key areas.