Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IRONS IN THE
Southern softies? Moyes has transformed them into a hard-edged, mean machine who outrun the opposition..now he warns his side: This is the business end..no slacking if you want glory
DAVID MOYES has told West Ham’s high-flying stars, ‘No guts, no glory’, as he pledged to keep cracking the whip.
The Hammers boss was ecstatic after his side went fourth in the Premier League with a thrilling 3-2 win at Wolves on Monday.
On-loan Manchester United ace Jesse Lingard inspired the victory with a stunning solo opener before helping tee up Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen.
Just as impressive was the combined distance of 119km the West Ham players ran, compared to Wolves’ 112km.
Lingard, who has six goals and three assists since joining in January, led the way with 16 sprints and Moyes says there can be no let up from his men if they are to qualify for the Champions League.
He said: “The players are in really good physical condition, which I think has helped them. I hope we keep it up.
“I want us to get stronger in the last eight games. We are not letting players away. We are not saying, ‘You have days off and well done’.
“We have not done anything yet in truth. This is the business end and that is the message going out to the players.
“Can we stay in it right until the end? Who knows.
I am not sure we will.
“When you are trying to build a team you are going to need consistent effort and commitment every week.
“That has been there all season and there have been very few games when we have not had that. We are fortunate to have two or three boys who are committed runners and good at it.”
The win over Wolves (below) came without England midfielder Declan Rice, who is ruled out for up to six weeks with a knee injury from international duty.
They also lost striker Michail Antonio in the first half to a hamstring injury, stretching their resources further.
Moyes, whose side host Leicester on Sunday, said: “We
have a good squad but cannot afford too many injuries. Dec is an incredible loss for us. Any team in the country would miss him, but we have to find other ways of doing it.
“After 30 games it is not a fluke – we are in there because we have been playing well.”
Pundit Gary Neville said of Lingard (tangling with Wolves’ Pedro Neto, below left): “He does an incredible amount of running. It’s what he does. He’s good out of possession and good in possession.”