West Ham United have confirmed their first two pre-season fixtures of the 2026/27 campaign, with away trips to Southend United and Stevenage now confirmed for next month.
The matches represent the opening steps of what will be a defining summer for the club. Relegated from the Premier League last season after finishing 18th, West Ham begin their Championship rebuild with a pair of familiar Essex and Hertfordshire grounds — modest, unglamorous venues that nonetheless carry real symbolic weight for a squad that will need to rediscover its competitive edge before the serious business begins.
The pre-season provides the first tangible evidence of whether that ambition of the new ownership structure is being backed on the pitch. Nuno Espírito Santo will use the two away fixtures to assess fitness levels and begin implementing the shape and pressing intensity he wants to carry into the Championship.
The choice of opponents is deliberate in its pragmatism. Southend United, playing their football in the lower reaches of the EFL, and Stevenage, a League One side, offer competitive but manageable opposition — the kind of tests that allow a manager to cycle minutes through a large group while still demanding intensity. Away fixtures, rather than the customary home run-outs, also mean the squad travels, builds its routines and physically endures the logistics of a matchday before the pressure ratchets up.
West Ham's pre-season plans are beginning to take shape, with further fixtures expected to be announced. For a squad that will be navigating new ownership, a new competitive environment and the weight of expectation around an immediate return to the top flight, getting that shape right matters. The comeback starts now.
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