West Ham United's return to the Championship after 14 years in the Premier League means one thing above all else for the other 23 clubs in the division: a shot at the biggest club on their fixture list. With crowds regularly topping 60,000 at The London Stadium and a squad still carrying the quality of a top-half Premier League side, West Ham won't just be playing football matches this season. For most of their opponents, they'll be playing a cup final.
"We are going to face the pressure; that's our job. We are West Ham, we are the biggest club in the league, and we want to show that we are going straight back up."Mads Hermansen
If there wasn’t enough proof that the stakes would be high for every club facing the Hammers, their starting keeper, Mads Hermansen, confirmed it. "We are going to face the pressure; that's our job. We are West Ham, we are the biggest club in the league, Hermansen said in an interview with BBC Sports. “And we want to show that we are going straight back up." It's as direct a statement of the club's own self-image as anyone at the club has offered this summer. Whether you view his statement as a disadvantage for the club or just an acknowledgement of the pressure, West Ham players have not shied away from what they seem to know is coming.
Nuno Espírito Santo has been saying versions of the same thing since pre-season, and has been explicit that West Ham cannot afford to treat Burnley who they face in the opener today, or anyone else for that matter, lightly regardless of the gap. Previewing the opener, he called it a huge game to start the competition, adding that West Ham are facing another side seen as a promotion favorites and that his team has already watched extensive footage to prepare. His stated message to the squad has been blunt: no complacency and resilience as the baseline requirement for every fixture.
That respect for the level extends beyond a single opponent. Ahead of the club's return to the EFL, Nuno described the Championship as one of the most difficult competitions in Europe, pointing to the volume of fixtures, the level of opponents, and the demanding schedule as the reasons why. It's a theme he's returned to repeatedly when asked. Most of his squad is unfamiliar with Championship football; standards will need to be earned fresh every week rather than assumed.
West Ham's first opponents didn't wait for kick-off to acknowledge the scale of the occasion. Burnley boss Nicky Hayen, previewing the visit of West Ham to Turf Moor, called it a big game and noted the stadium would be sold out. "They are one of, if not the biggest, favorites for the title this year,” Hayden said. “West Ham have the same manager; some players have changed but the playing style hasn't.”
If there's a healthy tension running through West Ham's own camp, it's between the scale everyone else expects them to bring and the danger of assuming that scale settles anything. Captain Jarrod Bowen has been the loudest voice guarding against exactly that trap, warning supporters and teammates alike against the mindset of assuming. The club's own leadership seems fully aware that being the biggest name in the division cuts both ways: it draws every opponent's best performance, and it offers West Ham no shortcut around earning results."We can't think we can just walk over teams because we are a big club or because we have good players. You have to earn everything in the Championship,” Bowen said.
"It’s a grueling league. It’s Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. There are times when you are not playing well, when your legs are heavy, but you have to find a way to win."Jarrod Bowen
Having played in The Championship with Hull City, West Ham’s captain knows fully well what this division is like. “It’s a grueling league. It’s Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. There are times when you are not playing well, when your legs are heavy, but you have to find a way to win. It is about a mentality shift. We can't have any arrogance about us."
Everyone Is Coming for West Ham
Former Hammers captain Kevin Nolan, who knows exactly what a promotion push from this level looks like, having led West Ham straight back to the Premier League in 2012, was even blunter in his assessment. Speaking as a studio analyst on Sky Sports Football in early August, Nolan didn't frame the target on West Ham's back as a burden so much as an inevitability the club needs to fully accept: "West Ham have a target on their back,” Nolan exclaimed “They've got to realise they are the big boys, and everyone is coming for them!"
Beyond the occasion and the crowd size, there's a simpler reason rival Championship players will be targeting this fixture: West Ham's matchday squad is stacked with players who spent last season in the Premier League and, in several cases, competing internationally. Bowen remains one of the most productive wide forwards outside the top flight's elite clubs. Konstantinos Mavropanos anchors a defence built for a higher level. Tomáš Souček brings a Premier League midfield engine that few Championship sides can match, but will try. Taty Castellanos gives West Ham a genuine goal threat up front. For any Championship player, lining up against that level of opposition is a rare chance to be measured against. Their performances against recognisable top-flight quality, on television, in front of a live audience many times the size of their usual crowd, will be additional motivation to have the match of their lives. Every player will be thinking a strong individual display against West Ham can do wonders for their reputation and value.
Between Hermansen's direct acknowledgment of the pressure, Nolan's blunt outside view that the whole league is coming for them, Nuno's insistence on respecting every fixture, and Bowen's refusal to let the squad coast on reputation, West Ham's own message matches what's coming from the rest of the division: every Championship club circling this season with West Ham on the calendar sees it as the standout date. The scale of the club, the size of the crowd, and the quality still on the pitch mean that for all other clubs, facing West Ham this year won't feel like just another midweek away day. It'll feel like the biggest game of their season.
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