Irons too hot to handle as they flatten Foxes
ASSISTANT manager Alan Irvine hailed the application and attitude of West Ham’s players following another eye-catching Premier League win, this time at Leicester.
The Hammers followed up last weekend’s 4-0 victory against Wolves with a 3-0 success at the King Power Stadium yesterday.
Their deep, organised defending denied the Foxes space while at the other end they were dangerous on the break through Michail Antonio and Pablo Fornals, both of whom scored in the first half.
Jarrod Bowen rounded off an impressive performance from the visitors late on while Declan Rice struck the crossbar.
Harvey Barnes was denied a late consolation when Jamie Vardy was flagged fractionally offside.
Asked about the secret behind the last two results, Irvine said: ‘Everyone is doing their job and doing their job extremely well.
‘The shape of the team is fantastic, in and out of possession, and the players have showed a great work ethic and commitment.
‘The players understand the importance of a clean sheet, you could see that in the celebration of some of them when the (Leicester) goal was ruled out at the end.
‘There’s a real pride in keeping clean sheets and they know if they can do that we have the firepower at the other end to hurt teams.’
Irvine again oversaw the team yesterday in the continued absence of manager David Moyes who, along with players Issa Diop and Josh Cullen, tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Carabao Cup tie against Hull on September 22.
Irvine was quick to highlight the part Moyes has played in the results against Wolves and Leicester despite having to self-isolate, revealing his fellow Scot should be back taking training next week.
‘David has been heavily involved in everything,’ said Irvine. ‘He picks the team and the substitutions and we just deliver the messages. I believe he was dancing around his apartment after the last win but I haven’t spoken to him yet – I imagine it will be much the same and he will be thrilled. We will be training again on Tuesday and he is hoping to be there.’
Leicester were looking to win their opening four league games for the first time in their history but boss Brendan Rodgers said: ‘It’s just one of those days. It starts with defending and we lacked intensity and aggression. West Ham played out far too easily. We had a lack of precision and quality.’