West Ham United U21 coach Mark Robson is delighted with their preseason progress.
While a young U21s side were defeated 2-1, courtesy of a late penalty for the Portuguese team, Robson could take positives in his lads' effort and work ethic in their pre-season opener.
He told whufc.com: “We've had a really, really good week. We've stayed in Tróia and had access to really nice facilities and a fantastic training ground. We've had a good week from a technical perspective, and we also got some tactical stuff into the boys as well. It's been really good and positive.
“We finished the week with the game against Sporting CP in what was really hot conditions. The boys were excellent though. They had a right go in terms of their work ethic. We were a bit rusty at times in certain areas, but you can expect that in the first game of pre-season. But there was also some really pleasing aspects too."
Robson also stated: "Against Sporting, every time we got past them, they brought us down. There were a lot of fouls in the game and, in a competitive game, they more than likely would have seen a couple of lads sent off. But, having said that, we didn't want to see anyone sent off because we wanted it to be a tough game for our boys in the first match of pre-season. In that respect, we couldn't get any rhythm or flow because it was foul after foul.
“It was a good experience for our boys because I'm expecting that sort of thing when we play in the Premier League International Cup later in the season. It's different to what we're used to in league football and would have been a really good experience for our lads."
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