Monday 9 May 2016 12:06, UK
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic reckons there will be a period of adjustment when the club completes the switch to the Olympic Stadium.
The Hammers will play their final competitive match at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday when they entertain Manchester United on an emotional occasion for the home fans.
And the east London club announced on Monday that more than 50,000 season tickets have been sold ahead of the relocation to their new home in the summer.
Bilic recalled his arrival at West Ham from German club Karlsruhe in January 1996, and how the homely environment around Upton Park helped him settle quickly into English football.
The Croatian moved to Everton the following year, but he has never forgotten the welcoming atmosphere at his first Premiership club.
Bilic said: "Although I came from Croatia and played in Germany I was a big fan of English football. Me, my father and my brother watched it when it was on the TV.
"So I knew what I was coming to and I really wanted to come to the Premiership. As soon as I came and after the first game, I knew I had made the right choice because of that special atmosphere. For me it's a special kind of football. I love it."
The 47-year-old had no hesitation in returning to the Boleyn Ground when the opportunity arrived in 2015 to take charge of the team.
He found little had changed at the venue, but he reckons the switch to Stratford may be difficult during the bedding in period for the Hammers.
Bilic said: "For me it was like deja vu, because I was here in the same stadium, same training ground, same people, it's the same kit men; Pete or Shirley from the kitchen staff. It's much easier.
"When I joined West Ham as a player in January 1996, I needed no time to gel in because the staff and players were so friendly that you enjoyed it and felt like one of the guys in the first couple of days.
"That was my first question that I asked Pete. He said they are the same and I didn't believe it. That's the biggest value of the club.
"I like the connection. I'm going to miss this stadium a lot. No matter how the new one is going to be; newer, better and more fancy.
"This is like a fortress. It's going to be not hard but impossible to replicate this kind of atmosphere. I wish we can and I wish we will but there's no chance. It's going to be different "
