Hammers training twice a day
West Ham United's players are being made to train twice a day by
Alan Curbishley as the manager tries to haul the team out of slump
that has seen them go nine league games without a win and lose in
the FA Cup at home to Watford.
Curbishley introduced the regime following his side's latest defeat
to Watford, which left them languishing in the bottom three and
facing a battle to retain their place in the Premiership. The
Hammers have only managed one Premiership win since Curbishley took
over from Alan Pardew in December and the players are reported to
be upset by his approach.
However, West Ham's Christian Dailly said the side would not
complain if it helped them beat Charlton Athletic at the Valley on
February 24. "The boys are still a bit down after the defeat
against Watford but the gaffer has been trying to lift us with
double sessions of hard training every day of the week.
"It is certainly something I have been really enjoying but I can't
speak for the rest of the team - I think everybody else is probably
hating it."
The defender said the side had not given up on beating relegation.
"We know we are capable of finding the form to turn things around
and we will be working hard. One of the problems for a new manager
coming in mid-season, especially around Christmas time, is that he
does not have enough time to see what the players can do in
training.
"He is basing a lot of his assessments on what he sees in matches
and that is nowhere near as good as having the players for a full
pre-season. Hopefully, before the Charlton game, we can show the
boss what we are really capable of and then turn it into a
result."
Dailly said West Ham's progress had been badly affected by
injuries.