Midfielder Lee Martin could be back in the Town squad for tomorrow’s home friendly against West Ham, but Andy Drury is set to miss out (KO 3pm). The 25-year-old, who is in talks with the club about a new contract, has trained in recent days after missing most of the Blues’ pre-season with a thigh injury.

Drury suffered a calf injury at Southend on Tuesday and isn’t thought likely to be involved against the Hammers, who are expected to send a strong squad to Portman Road.

Centre-half Tommy Smith could make his first pre-season appearance for the Blues having returned from Olympics duty with New Zealand.

Midfielder Josh Carson tweeted his hope that the Blues can repeat the 5-1 scoreline from the Hammers' last visit to Suffolk in January: "Big pre-season game tomorrow against West Ham. Looking forward to it, should be a great game, hopefully history repeats itself #5-1."

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says avenging that result isn't his main focus going into the match: "It's not about revenge but it's about us getting to our level now.

"It's about making sure we give 100 per cent effort for the maximum amount of time in the game and hopefully the lads will be able to do that for the whole 90 minutes.

"I'm expecting them to be able to reach as near to peak fitness as they can possibly get at this stage and then it's a small top-up before the start of the season. As I've said before, we've got to hit the ground running and be at 100 per cent and that will give us an opportunity to get off to a good start in the Barclays Premier League.

"The level of fitness will be all-important, as will the team shape and how the team plays which will be very important as well. We need to make sure we win the game and do the right things to win the game - in possession to try and score a goal and out of possession to work very, very to stop the opposition from scoring.

"If we come away with a win and a clean sheet it means we're starting to get things right and anything less than that will mean there is plenty of work to be done."

The Hammers are without  James Tomkins and Mohamed Diame, who are at the Olympics, while Kevin Nolan (toe) and George McCartney (sciatic nerve) are injured and Jack Collison is only just back in training after suffering a shoulder injury last season.

New signings Modibo Maiga, a Malian international striker previously with Sochaux, and former Aston Villa defender James Collins are expected to be involved.

Children below 16 years old can attend the game for free, while season ticket holders can buy tickets at promotional prices in advance of the match. Full details here.

Meanwhile, we understand yesterday’s report claiming that the Blues could renew their interest in Doncaster’s James Coppinger was wide of the mark.

Story syndicated from TWTD.co.uk

Photo: Action Images

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