Grays match preview

West Ham United are gearing up for the first friendly of the summer with the short trip to face Grays Athletic on Sunday afternoon.

Gianfranco Zola's first-team squad were put through their paces at Chadwell Heath on Saturday ahead of the fixture against the Blue Square Premier side. The likes of Herita Ilunga, Danny Gabbidon, Julien Faubert, Jack Collison, Kieron Dyer and Savio are set to be among those involved. 

whufc.com will have live text and photo coverage of the contest with all the action and reaction from the fixture due to follow via WHUTV.

"We are all looking forward to the Grays match and the first chance for our players to test themselves this summer," said Zola. "This is the most crucial time of the year so it is an important game. Then we go to Austria for a ten-day training camp.

"We need to make sure we work well because it will have a lot of benefits in the future. It's important that we do things properly right now because the result on 15 August [at Wolverhampton Wanderers] will depend on how well we work now."

The match will have extra significance for former Hammers favourite John Moncur, who is hoping to kick-off his reign as chairman of Grays with a win. The midfielder, who made 203 appearances for the Hammers between August 1994 and January 2003, took charge of the Essex club on 25 June.

Stepney-born Moncur is excited about the prospect of welcoming his former employers, as well as a host of West Ham heroes including Tony Cottee, Alan Devonshire, Tony Gale, Don Hutchison and Steve Lomas, who will be introduced to the crowd during the half-time interval.

Tickets will be available on the day for both home and away supporters, kick-off is at 3pm.

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