West Ham United have been praised by Billy McKinlay after they hammered Perth Glory 6-2.
The Hammers have had no problems scoring goals so far in pre-season, scoring 4 against Boreham Wood and now 6 against Perth.
There was no waiting for the first goal in their Australian tour, with David Moyes’ side scoring just over a minute into the match. Bowen, Scamacca, Emerson and Mubama all got on the score sheet for West Ham in what was an excellent attacking display.
Despite conceding two, Łukasz Fabiański also had a brilliant game, pulling off some unbelievable saves and he helped his side to win by a massive 4 goals.
Assistant coach Billy McKinlay was just as impressed by the performance as he was by the fans in Australia. “We got a great welcome,” he told West Ham TV, “the support we got was terrific, as it has been since we’ve been here in Australia.”
“I thought the performance was really good,” he confirmed. “In the first half it was a good game and they caused us some problems. We played some good football at times, scored some good goals, and overall it was a really good workout.”
While pre-season is primarily about building fitness, it can also set the tone heading into the Premier League season. For example, Billy admitted that “we didn’t score too many goals in the last pre-season campaign,” and this could have been the catalyst to the poor form throughout last season. He continued, “so starting with four and then six can only be a positive.”
“Scoring six goals was nice, and the front players being amongst the goals is always important. Jarrod scored a couple of goals and Divin and Gianluca scored, so we’re really pleased.”
Jarrod Bowen has looked particularly impressive so far, but then scoring a 90th minute winner in a European final would fill you with confidence. “He looks really, really sharp. We’re only ten days into pre-season and he’s come back like a house on fire,” McKinlay said, singing his praises for Bowen. “He’s a great player, a great boy. In no way, shape or form will he get above his station after what happened in the final.” Adding that “he loves the game!”
West Ham’s final game down under is against bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Over 50,000 fans are expected to be attending the London derby, so the players and staff are looking forward to it just as much as we are. “It’s two London clubs, a great rivalry, and a derby on the other side of the world. We’re ticking along nicely with our preparation, so it’ll be a really, really good game.”
Following the Spurs game, the players will travel back to East London and prepare for their match on Saturday against Dagenham and Redbridge. The game, which is much closer to home, is one of three remaining fixtures. The club will then face Rennes and, finally, Bayer Leverkusen.
There’s under a month until Premier League football returns and McKinlay, Moyes and the rest of the staff will be happy with what they’ve seen so far. It’s a crucial season for the East London side, they need to make sure the signings they make will keep them at the opposite end of the table to last year. It’s clear that there’s the foundations for an incredible team, it’s just about if we can bring in the right players to make it all click.
By Charlie Bass
