West Ham striker Toni Martinez has been training with the Hammers first team this week, along with the rest of the Under-23 squad.
New manager David Moyes decided to allow the Under-23 squad to train with the first team this week, after adding Alan Irvine, Stuart Pearce and Billy McKinlay to his backroom staff as assistants on Sunday.
Moyes was the Hammers’ surprise choice as manager after the club opted to sack Slaven Bilic after the east Londoners slipped into the bottom three of the Premier League following a 4-1 defeat to Liverpool at the London Stadium.
Martinez, 20, was full of praise for Moyes’s training techniques and even hinted at how the Hammers could operate tactically when they travel to to Hertfordshire to face Watford on Sunday afternoon, by stating all 11 players could defend.
“It’s been a great week,” Martinez said. “The Under-23’s and myself have been training with the first team. It’s given us a chance to learn a lot and improve.
“He [Moyes] really wants us to work hard and he wants all 11 players defending as well. It’s really good for us and our development. I will keep working, keep my head down and putting in the effort to score goals and get even better.”
Former Valencia youth star Martinez could be in line for a call-up to the Hammers first team this weekend, after Mexico international Javier Hernandez suffered a muscle problem in his upper leg during the international break against Belgium.
The forward has been in excellent form for the Hammers’ reserve side this season, scoring 10 goals in 11 games including a brace in the Checkatrade Trophy against League One outfit Bristol Rovers.
Three points for the Hammers is likely to take them out of the Premier League’s bottom three places. They could go as high as 14th place, if Stoke City, Everton, Bournemouth and West Brom all drop points.
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