Matt Phillips saluted the togetherness in Albion's camp as the first week of pre-season training came to a close.
The Baggies, fresh from their summer break, reported back for duty on Monday morning and have since been put through a series of physically challenging sessions in preparation for the 2019/20 Sky Bet Championship campaign.
And Matt has been impressed with the effort and determination shown by the players throughout what has been a gruelling return to action.
“The boys here are really close,” said Phillips.
“Ever since I have been here it has always been a good bunch of lads and I think that the boys that then came in since have added to that and that sort of continuity has remained.
“Monday was testing; getting all your fats done and weights. Then straight into the hard work. In the morning we have been doing football based stuff and then in the afternoon more conditioning.
“In the first week everyone is keen to get back into it and show that you have been doing a bit of work over the summer as well. The standard has been good, the boys have come back in good condition.
“Everyone takes a bit of pride through the summer and although you are on holiday and enjoying yourself you still in the back of your mind are thinking about the season coming up and the condition you need to be in to be able to excel.
“This week has been finding your feet a bit. I think the next few weeks we’ll start to see a bit more about each other and I look forward to the season ahead.
“Slaven and the staff seem good. I think everyone is excited to get down to work and once the first couple of weeks are over we’ll start to see a few more games and we’ll get more of a feel for his style and how we’re going to go about getting promotion this year.
“The second half of last season was really tough for myself. My operation took a while to get over and hopefully now I can get a good pre-season behind me and really push on again.”
