Moyes lands 18-month deal on return to West Ham

DAVID MOYES was last night confirmed as West Ham manager for the second time after reaching an agreement over an 18-month contract with the club. The Scot is due to meet the players at the club’s Rush Green training base today after Manuel Pellegrini was sacked on Saturday following a limp 2-1 loss to a second-string Leicester side. Co-owner David Sullivan said: ‘David (Moyes) proved in his short time with the club that he was capable of getting results and we believe that he will start moving the club in the right direction once again. ‘He knows the club well and he built strong relationships which will be crucial for the work that needs to be done.’ Moyes (right) has been out of work since leaving West Ham in 2018, when he led them to safety after replacing Slaven Bilic with the club sitting inside the relegation zone. Some within the club felt he deserved another deal at the end of his six months but Sullivan disagreed, insisting they bring in a more ‘high-calibre figure’. Moyes said last night: ‘It’s fabulous to be back. It feels great to be home. I’ve missed being here and I feel like I’ve got unfinished business, so I can’t wait to get started. ‘I’m feeling very proud but, more importantly, I’ll be looking to see what improvements I can make and how we can get some wins with these players. I do believe that the squad here is a better squad than when I took over before. ‘There’s got to be a short-term goal for us just now to get the wins to get us away from the wrong end of the league and what we’re going to do over the next six months, then what we’re going to do over the next period as well.’ Moyes, 56, starts work today and his first game will be against

Bournemouth on New Year’s Day at the London Stadium. Director of football Mario Husillos has left the club, with the board fearing relegation and deeply unhappy with recruitment on his watch. Moyes now has the task of leading West Ham, who are 17th in the table, to safety this season. Alan Irvine and Stuart Pearce have been approached about joining his staff — just as they were in 2017. One drawback of Pearce’s potential recruitment might be how vocal he was about Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady as a pundit on talkSPORT last year. The former coach surprisingly revealed he did not meet either during his seven-month stay. The entire backroom team assembled by Pellegrini are also expected to leave.