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The 2026/27 Championship season kicks off in earnest this weekend, with West Ham United facing a trip to the north west to face fellow relegated side Burnley. And speaking ahead of his first league test of the new campaign, Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo took questions on squad availability, new signings, the transfer window, the importance of retaining the services of Jarrod Bowen plus much more - every word of which you may read below... Q: Nuno, a couple of days until Burnley. How's the squad looking and can I get some injury updates on Thomas Soucek and Keiber Lamadrid? NES: Both of them are out for this game. We have a couple of issues more. I'll not go much further. We are preparing for the match. Still one session to go but we have some issues, yes. Q: With those two, I know they're slightly more long term injuries. Do you have any kind of estimate when they might be back? NES: As soon as possible. You know, it has to be assessed day by day. Both of them are improving. You have to take it day by day. Q: What's it going to be like now, playing in the Championship with the mentality switched? Because last season I guess started so poorly that West Ham looked like they had a chance of relegation. Now you're the favourites to win the Championship, so there must be a change of mentality. But how, how is that going to be for you to handle and actually for the players to handle as well going into most games now with people expecting West Ham to win? NES: Yeah, that's the reality and we cannot get away from that. That's our goal. We're not going to be going back to the Premier League now in August. It's going to be a long, long ride, but this is our goal and we take it game by game. Approach and prepare the boys, realising that expectation is pressure on us. Q: A lot of fans are looking forward to it. There's not much in the Championship I guess to look forward to, most people want to play in the Premier League - but no VAR? NES: It's going to be new, back to the old days! I've been there, so it's going to be new for everybody. We had a meeting with the referees explaining all the details of the changing of law. I think it's going to be surprising for many of our players also, but we have to handle it. Q: How about Burnley, what kind of a threat do you think they pose to you on Sunday and also throughout the season as well? NES: I think Burnley are alongside a large group of teams with the same expectation to us, to go back [to the Premier League]. So we're going to find a tough opponent, a good team. We've been analysing them, it's going to be a tough match. Q: Manor Solomon came this week, Why did you choose to sign him? NES: Specifically because of his talent. I think he can give us many things. His isa position that was lacking in in the squad, in the team. We prepared during preseason many options on the left wing but it's good to have Solomon, He's a talented player and we are delighted. Q: You've talked a lot this summer about West Ham changing their approach and being patient when looking to sign players, is that proven with the looking at Arne Engels? It seems like that's very close now. He seems to have been a target of yours from the start of the window and it seems like yourself and Nils Koppen have been patient with that one. Does that prove this new strategy of not looking elsewhere? NES: Yeah, patience is a good word. Patience is a good word, but is more than anything is trying to make it right. All the deals that we want to make, the players to come with the purpose with a clear mindset of what we expect from him. We don't have too much time but the priority is to make it right so Solomon is here and we are aware that we need more bodies. Q: Do you think you could get Engles in by Sunday? NES: I know there was a bid accepted by Celtic but I cannot go much further. Now it's a medical and until everything is done, then we won't speak about the player. Q: If you get Engles in, is the squad ready or do you still need more? NES: As I just mentioned, we still need more and we have to be aware that the transfer window there is open. Meanwhile, we have to be ready for anything. Q: And will players leave as well? Because last game we did speak about it before, but you know, we had Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Todibo not in the squad. Can we expect them to return, or are those two players now likely to leave? NES: We'll see. The window is open. All the players that are here, they know what we think, what we expect from them. But the transfer window is open, so anything can happen. Q: What did you learn last week playing against another Championship team in Portsmouth, because that's the kind of level you're going toa face week in, week out.? NES: It's tough. We cannot afford to start the way we started the game, we started badly. After we were able to balance, make a good performance and win the game fairly. But there was a warning for us that we cannot think that the games are going to be solved just because you are West Ham. We have to work very hard for it. Q: You saw the energy in the stadium because in particular, Jarrod Bowen has stayed. Give me an idea of how big for you that is, because you've had big players before - I think back to your Wolves team in the Championship, you had some really important players who you would have definitely wanted to build a team round and I guess here Jarrod was one of them. You probably value all your players, but he was probably the crown jewel? NES: He's the captain of the club, means a lot. He's talented, amazing, amazing player, amazing person. It's an example for all of us, so having him staying committed is the way that we want our players to be -totally committed to the club. Jarrod is a good example, it means a lot for us. Q: I spoke to Joel Veltman before and he's saying, amongst other things, it's pretty why he was so interested in coming here as well, because they've got Jarrod Bowen? NES: I think it was because he wanted to join a big club and we are very happy to have him, but it's a good example to have! Q: You spoke about West Ham being favourites for this league. You know this league well, last time you were in it, you were absolutely magnificent with Wolves and ran away with the league with 100-odd points. I'm not saying you could do that again with West Ham, but the memories are there, aren't they? And you yourself can tap into that? NES: Yes, but the competition has changed a lot. It was many years ago and we know that everything is going to be new. It's a beautiful competition. I believe that's one of the most difficult competitions. In Europe, the amount of games, the level of the opponents, the schedule - all these things plays a part. But it's going to be new. Q: Do you like the schedule of playing three games a week? NES: I don't mind, but it's hard on the players! It's very tough on them, but we're going to get them ready for It. Q: Up front, you know, towards the end of our season you liked to play two upfront. Other names being linked with the class are Troy Parrot, Jamie Vardy. Is that the kind of player you're looking at, someone who is proven as a goalscorer that you know will probably go and get you 20, 25 goals in the season? NES: And you know that I'm not going to answer that! yeah. But look, it's about respect for the players that are here in the buildings, about the clubs to whom these players belong, it's about them themselves. I will not speak. I'll only speak when the player puts a signature on our contract. Q: Going into a seasons of his favourites to they get promoted, it could lead to complacency. How important is it for you and if the players not to expect to have won games before you play them? NES: We cannot afford to even think about being complicit. We have to become resilient. It's going to be very tough. Complacency is a word that we avoid to mention. Q: Do you like being chased rather than chasing? Do you like being the team that people are trying to beat rather than having to be the team that struggling to beat other teams, like you maybe did last season? NES: Yeah, if you say so. Yes, because it shows we are confident and we are ready. But we are aware of the difficulties. What we know is that every team we look at us as the team to it, so we have to be ready for it. Q: And you were saying about the Wolves experience of getting promoted, but do you think this will be a very different experience? NES: Yes, totally different because the Championship through the years has changed so much, has changed so much. I remember how it was. It's now it's different. More difficult! Q: Burnley, another team who obviously got relegated last season. So how big a test is that, do you think? NES: For both of us, I think it's a huge game to start the competition. We expect a tough match against a good team and talented players. Q: They've got a new manager, in a new league, so how difficult is it for you to prepare to play them? How tough is it to know what to expect? NES: We've looked at as many matches as possible and we have enough information to give to our players. Q: And how important will it be? What would it mean for you to start the Championship season with three points? NES: We have to play the game, we have to compete very well on Sunday. * Something to say about this story? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.