Harry Beautyman believes pre-season is a chance to impress.

Like so many others, Harry Beautyman has been working hard during the summer to maintain his fitness ahead of the return to pre-season training.

The former Leyton Orient midfielder knows there is a competition for places in the middle of the park following the arrival of Jack Collison, but the first few weeks of pre-season wipes any slate clean.

'There is no point second guessing what the management have in store in terms of team selection. Everyone comes back to pre-season at the same point and it is down to us to try and impress.

'We have a lot of pre-season friendlies to look forward to and as players that is what you want. You want to work your way up to full match fitness and we have a great opportunity to do that and also test ourselves against some quality opposition.

'West Ham will be great for me, I will have a lot of my family up for that. It will be a good test for us, but it is important to pick up some victories and get some momentum.

'Pre-season has gone very well so far. There have been some tough but enjoyable sessions so far. On the first day, it was great to see the footballs because you will go back to a lot of clubs on the first day of pre-season and just be made to run for the first couple of weeks. You can do a lot of fitness work with the ball involved and we have worked extremely hard.

'The five-minute run was tough, but it is pre-season and you have to make sure you get through it and I think everyone hit the targets that were set, which was obviously pleasing for everyone in the dressing room.

'I gave myself a few weeks off in the summer, but then it was back to the running and the gym work to make sure I came back in good condition. The first day of pre-season is like the first day of school. You keep in contact, but to see the boys and have that banter on the first day is what you miss,' Beautyman said.