Simon Parker was appointed Southampton’s head coach in the summer, marking a homecoming for the 39-year-old.
He first worked in the Saints Foundation before becoming head coach of Southampton Women's FC, who are not affiliated to the Saints, guiding them to the FA Women’s National League and Cup double.
In 2019, Parker joined Lewes as assistant manager, before being promoted to the role of head coach a year later, helping them to their highest-ever Barclays WSL 2 finish in 2020/21, fifth.
A move to Portugal then awaited Parker, who joined União Torreense in 2022. He lost only one league game with the second-tier outfit before becoming Blackburn manager in 2023.
There was plenty of transfer business at Southampton over the summer, as they made 12 signings, including the addition of former Hammers forward Emma Harries, who signed permanently in July.
Another signing came in the form of the loan addition of left-back Jess Simpson from Barclays Women’s Super League side Manchester United. The 20-year-old has already been capped for England at U23s level and joined the Saints after two loan spells at Bristol City.
A notable departure was 21-year-old midfielder Lucia Kendall, who signed for Aston Villa after breaking through the ranks of Southampton’s regional talent centre. She made 103 appearances for the Saints, scoring 29 goals, and also helped the club achieve promotion to the second tier in 2022.
Previous Meetings…
The only meeting between West Ham United and Southampton since we turned professional in 2018 came in the Women's League Cup in December 2024.
In the final group-stage fixture of last season's competition, the Hammers ran out convincing 3-0 winners thanks to second-half goals from Shelina Zadorsky and Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, either side of a Paige Peake own-goal.