Former Premier League striker Noel Whelan has piled praise on West Ham United manager David Moyes for taking the decision to move to the London Stadium for first-team training.
The Hammers returned to training after a temporary suspension of the 2019/20 campaign, that has seen us without our beloved football club since March.
The Premier League have been initiating ‘Project Restart‘, which is their campaign to get training and matches up and running as safely as humanly possible.
June 17th is the provisional date that has been given for the top-flight to get started again, with our side currently sitting in 16th in the standings, level on points with Watford and Bournemouth who snake into the relegation zone in 18th place.
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan suggested all of the other 19 teams in the league will follow the example that Moyes has set.
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“It is very smart, a great idea,” he said. “West Ham need to hit the ground running because they are in trouble. When you are playing on your own turf you get used to the size of the pitch and the environment.
“I would not be surprised if a few teams do that. It is a good way to get used to playing in the stadium without fans. They have only got a short amount of time so it is a very clever idea from Moyes to do that.
Whelan added that we would not want any other team having any kind of advantage of over us, and that the home supporters would normally give us that little bit extra in games to get over the line.
It is a great precedent that Moyes has set, and Whelan is right on this. The small and possibly claustrophobic space of a training ground, as opposed to a big open stadium, could be the difference to the Premier League meeting it’s start date and maybe being pushed back.
Preparations will be no different in terms of implementing tactics and fitness exercises. Whether this makes a difference when it matters, remains to be seen.
