West Ham United's first team squad have arrived in Dubai ahead of their mid-season break.
Sam Allardyce and the first team flew to the Middle East following Wednesday night's defeat to Chelsea. Whilst there, they will be undertaking some warm weather training before returning to the UK next week.Assistant manager Neil McDonald told whufc.com: " It’s been a tough couple of months but what we normally do is go away so the lads can get a bit of sun on their backs. We do a bit of training in the gym and along the beach, as well as having a couple of football sessions.
"In the last two or three months everyone’s had their tracksuit tops, gloves and hats on and it’ll be great to go across there. We’ll still be working, but [it'll be] special for the boys that it’s in the heat. The results have always been good when we’ve come back."
Since first making the now-annual mid-season trip to Dubai with his squad in 2012, Allardyce's West Ham have posted reasonable results immediately after returning to the UK.
That year, during the 2011/12 season, they picked up just six points from the first five games following their return to England, before picking up eight the next season (2012/13). During those two spells the Hammers suffered defeat just twice, at home to Tottenham and Chelsea (in February 2012).
However last season's post-Dubai results were far more of a mixed bag, with West Ham beating Southampton and Hull but losing to Everton, Stoke and Man Utd.
First Five Back
How West Ham have performed after returning from Dubai in recent seasons
2011/12 (February 2012)
Cardiff (a) 2-0
Watford (h) 1-1
Doncaster (h) 1-1
Leeds Utd (a) 1-1
Middlesbrough (h) 1-1
2012/13 (February 2013)
Spurs (h) 2-3
Stoke (a) 1-0
Chelsea (a) 0-2
West Brom (h) 3-1
Liverpool (a) 0-0
2013/14 (February 2014)
Southampton (h) 3-1
Everton (a) 0-1
Stoke City (a) 1-3
Man Utd (h) 0-2
Hull City (h) 2-1
2014/15 (March 2015) Schedule
Arsenal (a)
Sunderland (h)
Leicester (a)
Stoke (h)
Man City (a)
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