Carter-Vickers on first week of pre-season

As he wiped the sweat off his brow following another gruelling day of pre-season training, Cameron Carter-Vickers underlined how he’s targeting another strong summer campaign in a bid to be in top shape for the first day of the new season in August.

The 19-year-old powerhouse was among the first group of lads to report back to Hotspur Way after the holidays on Monday and, along with the likes of Michel Vorm, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Josh Onomah, has spent the last few days going through an intense regime of fitness exercises and early ball work.

Reflecting on his week’s work, the USA youth international said: “Pre-season is always tough – it’s a lot of gym sessions, a lot of running and just trying to get back into the groove of things.

“Obviously I was with the first team last year for pre-season so this year I came in kind of prepared for what was going to get thrown at us. It is tough, but we work hard pretty much all season round, so you get used to it and you know what to expect.

“For me, it’s all about working as hard as I can, trying to get fit – that’s the main thing – then push on, try to impress the manager, try to get some game time in pre-season and see what happens after that.”

Having impressed during pre-season in 2016, Cameron went on to figure in the first team squad for the bulk of last season. Although he missed the closing weeks of 2016-17 through injury, he was back to take part in the USA’s run in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in South Korea. It was the second time he’s been involved at that tournament in recent years and it’s something he believes can act as a springboard as he looks to push on with his development in 2017-18.

“It really helped me,” he explained. “I went out there, played a few games and got some useful experience. When you’re there, you’re playing against the top players in your age group and you come up against all different types of players, so it’s good and it definitely helped me.

“Now I’m back at the club, I just need to keep working hard in training, go at everything 100 per cent every day and just try to impress the manager.”

Born in Southend, Cameron qualifies to play for the States through his father Howard ‘Hi-C’ Carter, the former basketball player from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

With our team heading across the Atlantic for a pre-season tour later this month – playing matches against PSG in Orlando, Roma in New Jersey and Manchester City in Nashville – Cameron believes the trip will be both enjoyable and beneficial for all concerned.

“I’ve been to Orlando before and I reckon it will be hot, especially around this time of year,” said the young defender. “About two years ago, before qualifying for the previous Under-20 World Cup, we had a training camp out there and it was good. The lads can look forward to it – it’s a nice city.

“I think it’s great for us to play against top teams as well, teams like PSG, Roma and City. Obviously it helps you because the better players you play against, the better prepared you will be for the season.”