Rice: ‘We’re feeling the benefits’ of the Miami training

As West Ham United return from their training foray in the American city of Miami, teenager Declan Rice expressed the importance of his team’s time in the glamorous city.

As the Hammers return to London over the weekend, Rice was very complimentary of the club’s short but necessary time in the Floridian state, hoping that it could serve as a boost before the massive six-pointer against Southampton after the international break.

“The sessions were probably an insight into what pre-season is going to be like,” Rice told the club’s official website. “We’re Premier League footballers so we’ve got to be fit as a fiddle really, and the manager, to bring us out here, we’ve got to work hard. And when we get back we’ve got to keep going.”

“We’ve had four hard sessions out here, including the bike session on Monday. The manager has really worked us hard out here and with the heat out here, it’s really made an impact. We’re all feeling the benefits of it.”

After the utter fan debacle of the Burnley defeat, any positive vibes is paramount for West Ham at the moment. And Rice seems to indicate that Miami provided more team bonding than what has been taking place in training sessions back home.

“I think the more time you spend together, the more you get to know each other,” Rice said. “There might be some people that you don’t really speak to at the training ground. You can be here and speak to them and get to know more about them.

“It’s the same with the staff as well. You don’t really get to sit down with the staff. It’s been really good. To get away, with the weather out here, with the results not really going our way at the moment, getting to spend time together as a team and bringing the staff as well. It’s important that we’ve come out here and done this trip.”