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West Ham’s shift from the Boleyn Ground to the London Stadium is still regarded as one of the most debated stadium moves in modern football.

The Hammers’ old ground was rich in tradition and carried the sort of advantage that only classic, tightly packed stadiums can offer — something that is becoming increasingly uncommon in the modern game.

As the East London club gets ready for life again in the second tier, former West Ham favourite Tony Gale feels the team’s performances on the pitch have unquestionably been affected since the move in 2016.

For Gale, the difference between the team that departed Upton Park under Slaven Bilic and the football seen afterwards is obvious.

“Slaven Bilic took us out of Upton Park and I enjoyed that period,” Gale told FourFourTwo. “Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini — players the crowd wanted to watch.

“I remember listening to Slav, he was really interesting. He said the pitch is roughly the same size as Upton Park, but because of the huge open space around it, there is an optical illusion about the place and he said that affected the players. He found it difficult to keep the team compact when they played at home.”

But Gale, who made more than 300 appearances for the Irons between 1984 and 1994, knows it is very easy to look back at the past through rose-tinted glasses.

“But we must also remember that Upton Park didn’t always have a great atmosphere,” he admitted. “You look at the start of our really good season in 1985-86, our crowds were down to 15,000.

“Now they are 62,000, and the acoustics of the new stadium are brilliant. Don’t tell me we haven’t had great nights there in the European games.

“The ground has changed but the crowd hasn’t. They will respond to 100 per cent effort and good football.”

And while Gale believes the supporters’ passion remains intact, he points to the present-day set-up as a major reason why the club’s fortunes have declined.

“Outside, it’s a different story,” he added. “There should be more going on around the stadium. You should feel like you are approaching a football ground, because right now it really doesn’t feel like that. It’s a 20 to 25-minute walk from Stratford station and it’s all wide open, unlike the old narrow streets around Upton Park. That makes it difficult to build an atmosphere outside.

“A lot of Premier League grounds suffer from that, but I miss the old programme sellers and the old-style hot dog stalls where you could smell the onions from the next postcode. The London Stadium doesn’t ‘smell’ of football.”