Hammers put through their paces at Fota

West Ham United’s stars had an early start yesterday morning as the Hammers continued their pre-season training camp at Fota Island Resort in Cork.

Having converged at 7am, the squad was split into two, with one group going for a cycle and the other heading to the pool.

There, under the guidance of physiotherapist Jon Urwin, the players went through a series of movements in the main pool, hydropool and walking river, designed to remove toxins from the body and prepare them for the exertions of the day ahead.

“In the main pool, the depth of the water is more than 120cm — 1.2m — which is important because it means the pressure of the water is potentially higher than the diastolic (minimum) blood pressure in the players’ bodies,” Urwin explained.

“Basically, this means it helps to remove any waste products from the training the previous day because it is really good for lymphatic drainage.

“We got them into the water as a first port of call and then we got them moving. Generally, the first pool is a mobility and flexibility session and it loosens them off from the previous day and gets them prepared for the training session that starts a couple of hours later.”

West Ham play Cork City in a friendly at Turner’s Cross on Sunday (kick-off 6pm) and Hammers star Joe Cole expects an entertaining match.

“It should be a good match and it’s great for the fans out here to be able to see a Premier League club come over here and play. Hopefully it will be nice weather and a good game,’’ Cole said.