WE’RE UP FOUR IT
Moyes gets serious over Champions League bid
DAVID MOYES called his staff together at West Ham’s training ground yesterday as one of the most remarkable campaigns in the club’s history entered the home straight.
Win at Newcastle this lunchtime and the club go third in the table with just six games to go.
The ‘West Ham in the Champions League’ thing started as a bit of fun.
It was unthinkable after the Hammers lost their opening game of the season to Newcastle amid talk of takeover turmoil and the club captain openly attacking the board for selling off the club’s brightest young prospects.
Now Moyes admits that things are beginning to get a bit serious.
“The teams below us with the quality that they have got, they have been over the course before and know how to get over the line,” he said.
“This is pretty new to us but we are going to do it our way – maybe not completely conventionally but we are going to go with it, with no real pressure, not expecting too much and see what we come up with.
“But this is the bit where the pressure comes because you have got yourself so close now, you feel as if you can touch it.”
Moyes maintains that the calibre of the clubs around West Ham in the table make them outsiders for a top four place come the end of the season.
But he knows these opportunities to step up onto the biggest club stage are few and far between. “I’m not going to load the players with loads of pressure because there is a chance of being in the Champions League,” the Scot added.
“But I’ve just said to the staff this morning that you don’t get too many opportunities to do this.
“We have to take every opportunity we can to get around the Champions League and be in it.
“If we can do it we will, but it is a long, long shot for us. I can’t see the bookies making us favourites to be in the top four.”
Their prospects are not helped by the loss of two of their most influential players at such a critical time.
Moyes hopes that Declan Rice and Michail Antonio will be available for some part of the remainder of the season but their absence is a big miss.
Aaron Cresswell, too, is a doubt for today’s game.
But it is a lot more fun in training each day when the players are fighting to achieve their dreams as opposed to battling to avoid the nightmare.
Moyes said: “When we were coming to the business end last year and the year before we were needing to score goals and get points to stay up or keep away from the bottom three.
“So we’re enjoying this new We’re enjoying training.
“Everybody is working hard and it’s been good fun on the training ground.
“We’ve built a good spirit and we’re hoping we can keep it going.” situation.
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OH JESS! Moyes hails Lingard (left) and Jarrod Bowen after win over Wolves
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