West Brom's Brandon Thomas-Asante earns praise for pre-season fitness work

Thomas-Asante, who arrived from Salford City last summer, scored nine goals in 35 games last season and impressed Albion fans with his high energy displays.

And team-mate Swift has revealed it is easy to see where the 24-year-old's all action displays come from - given the work he has already got through in pre-season.

He said: "I’d have to say Brandon has impressed me the most in pre-season so far, especially with the running.

“I don’t think I realised how fit he actually was.

“You see in matches how quick he can be and how much he can put defenders under pressure with his running, but actually over a long distance, the ability to just keep going and going and going is something he’s really strong at.

“I think a lot of the lads have been really impressed with Brandon so far.”

Albion are well into their pre-season schedule after their recent return - and are getting set for an upcoming training camp at St George's Park - before their opening friendly behind closed doors against League One Shrewsbury Town.

Swift, who is heading into his second season at the club, after arriving as a key signing last summer, believes the first friendly represents 'light at the end of the tunnel', after the hard runs that players have had to endure on their return to pre-season.

Talking to the club website, he said: "The first game of pre-season isn’t too far away now so there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

“The best thing about it for me is seeing everyone after the summer break and trying to get back to our performance levels that we reached in training sessions last year.

“When you first come back it’s all about running and trying to get your fitness back, but then when you see the balls coming into play and all of the patterns of play come together like they were last season, that’s the best part about it for me.

“The worst is the running. When you walk out onto the pitch and you don’t see any balls and it’s just poles and cones you know it’s going to be a tough one. It’s all part of the game though and I’ve been doing it for a while. It’s clearly really important work which will put us in good shape for the season ahead.

“At the beginning I think you really look forward to coming back. When you’re younger you do a load of running in the summer break and it makes you really excited to come back and impress.

“The older you get, you know what your body needs and how much rest and recovery you need, which perhaps you don’t understand or need as much as a youngster.

“The older you get, the more aware you are in terms of what you need in pre-season.

“I would have to say it does get a bit tougher the older you get, though.”