West Ham United are back in action on Monday 15 July, when new Head Coach Julen Lopetegui takes charge of his first game as manager against Ferencváros.
The Hammers stepped up their pre-season preparations for the 2024/25 Premier League campaign by travelling to Austria for a week-long training camp, and midfielder James Ward-Prowse hopes the Irons can conclude their trip with a positive showing against the 35-time and reigning Hungarian champions at 4pm CEST (3pm BST).
A short journey from their base in Kitzbühel is on the agenda for Ward-Prowse and his teammates, as they travel into the Alpine town to Sportstadion Langau to face Ferencváros, before further trips to Dagenham & Redbridge and the United States to take on Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace in two exciting fixtures as part of the inaugural Stateside Cup.
“We’re expecting a tough test,” Ward-Prowse confirmed. “We don’t know a lot about them [Ferencváros], but we are looking forward to it, as it’s the first bit of game time to try and implement the manager's [Lopetegui] style, put what we have been working on over the past two weeks into practice and get some minutes under our belts.
“I think you can get all sorts of different tests throughout pre-season. We aren’t going to be the finished article on Monday, but it’s about getting the manager’s message across and getting that fitness hit, which is important. It’s not about the result. It’s more so about doing the stuff we have been working on.
“You can tell from the manager that he has got a winning mentality, so I’m sure he will want to win the game. We’ve also got a lot of young players with us, and it will be a good experience for them to get some game time and try impress the manager. As long as we do the things we’ve been working on, we can come away with a positive end to the trip.”
Head Coach Lopetegui and his coaching staff have put the players through a tough schedule throughout the past week, with regular double sessions in the aim to give them a superior base of fitness.
For Ward-Prowse, who is in his 14th pre-season as a first-team player, all this is nothing new he and is relishing every minute back out on the grass.
“It’s been everything I expected," Ward-Prowse added. "Coming away on pre-season trips is a good experience to try and integrate a few of the new lads into the squad, but also a good time to work as you don’t have any distractions and it’s a very intense period to work on the fitness. It's been a good opportunity know the manager, his coaching staff and the way he wants to work, so it’s been a positive week.
“It’s a really important period of the season for us, and the manager has emphasised that the work we do now will benefit us in the season to come.
“They [Maximilian Kilman, Luis Guilherme and Wes Foderingham] have settled in well and are really good lads. That’s one thing I liked when I joined the Club, that everybody is really kind and engaging, and it’s been good to spend the week with them, help integrate them into the squad and make them feel as comfortable as possible.
“It’s really enjoyable [Lopetegui’s new style]. It’s an exciting style to play and is a very modern way of playing, and you can sense from the players that they are all enjoying the work. It’s aggressive, full of energy and some hopefully good stuff in possession too. There’s lots to build on.
“When a new manager comes in, it is an opportunity to have a fresh start, a new idea and a new direction to follow, so having been away I’m sure everybody has missed football, so it’s a good opportunity to work with someone new and find out their ways of winning games.”
You can watch a live stream of our opening pre-season game with Ferencváros for free on the Club’s official Website, App, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook channels, with coverage starting 15 minutes before kick-off at 3.45pm CEST (2.45pm BST).
Monday's warm-up fixture will see Ward-Prowse and his teammates wear our new 2024/25 Away Kit - the Cockney Kit - for the first time. To order yours now, click HERE.
