New West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce is seeking English signings for his squad rebuild.
Despite being on holiday in Spain, Allardyce has started work on adding to the squad he inherited from Avram Grant. He officially begins work at the club on 20 June, says the Guardian.
Allardyce wants to add a physical edge to his squad and improve its fitness and he believes a core of English players will help to build team spirit.
Allardyce will look to recruit players with experience of the Premier League or the Championship and David Gold, the club's co-owner, told the club's website he hoped Allardyce would help make West Ham the bookies' favourite for promotion.
Gold said: "There was one redeeming feature from getting relegated a week earlier [than the close of last season]. It was that we had a week extra to set up our plans and start the process to bring Sam in. It was important to do that as quickly as possible. There is so much work to do and the sooner you can get started on it the better."
