West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has revealed that he is pleased with his Europa League preparations but also stated that starting the season so early is not ideal.
The Hammers are currently in Slovenia ahead of the Europa League qualifier against NK Domzale on Thursday.
“We are happy with our preparations,” Bilic was quoted as saying by the official West Ham website
“We have done everything that wanted to do, but still we have to make a balance in our preparations to compromise some things because the competitive games don’t start on 15 August, they start on Thursday.
“It’s not ideal but I’m really pleased with the way we’ve trained.”
Bilic did also revealed that he will not have a full strength squad due to players that were at the European Championships not having returned yet.
France international Dimitri Payet will have a longer break than most of his teammates due to reaching the Euro 2016 final with France.
Summer signings Gokhan Tore, Sofiane Feghouli and Ashley Fletcher will however, be available and have been playing for the East London based outfit over the pre-season period.
“We are still expecting a few players to come back, those who have been playing in the European Championships,” he added.
“If we continue to work hard like this, with dedication and humility, we can expect good things.”
The first leg will be played in Slovenia and the return tie will be played in London at the New Stadium the following week.
Summer signing Tore will make his official debut if he features against the Slovenia based side.
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