I would find it extremely difficult to play the first three games of a season away from home, as West Ham are doing this year.
After the world athletics championships, it will take two weeks to turn the London Stadium back into a football ground, meaning Mark Noble will not lead West Ham out there for a home game until September 11 — nearly a month into the season.
Playing away at the start of the season is tough. Wherever you go, the home fans are buzzing because football is back.
Whatever the expectations of a club at the start of the season, the players are generally in a good frame of mind.
You want to have a home game in there, to get in front of your own fans and get yourself into the season. If you are on the road constantly, it is difficult to find that feeling in the early weeks.
