Mike Walters

DAVID MOYES is facing a huge eight days which will determine whether West Ham’s season is a success or peters out.

Either side of their Europa League quarter-final salvage mission against Bayer Leverkusen, the Hammers tackle Fulham and Crystal Palace on the home front.

And if those derby dates turn into capital punishment, the Irons’ bid for a fourth consecutive campaign in Europe next season will be in serious danger of falling short.

Moyes has not given up hope of retrieving a 2-0 deficit against Leverkusen at the London Stadium on Thursday night.

But of equal importance is today’s home date with Fulham, where the Hammers boss admits he must lift his depleted and fatigued squad to stay ahead of Newcastle and Chelsea in the race to finish in the top seven.

Two goals in the last seven minutes in Germany on Thursday night delivered twin hammer blows to West Ham’s latest European crusade.

And Moyes said: “Obviously the efforts the players put into the game were huge. We were playing a future Champions League team and now we’ve got some concerns and a few injuries.

“We need to get them back out and ready to go. We knew this was going to be a difficult period for us, especially with suspensions and injuries we couldn’t really afford at this time.

“But unfortunately that is the way it has come around.”

Lucas Paqueta and Emerson will miss the second leg against Leverkusen through suspension after picking up yellow cards in Germany.

And Moyes, who never seems more than one defeat away from the next wave of confected online outrage from hardline supporters, is aware the Hammers’ best route back to Europe next season probably lies in a lofty Premier League finish.

He added: “There is huge disappointment now, but I’m incredibly proud of the players to be in a quarter-final of European football. We’ve got to

accept that it was one of the toughest draws of the teams left in the competition – but that is the way it goes.

“We’ve still got a big chance in the second leg and now we have to pick ourselves up for the league.

“Somehow we have to find a way of being strong and solid, and hopefully we can get everybody behind the players and give them the support they’re going to need on Sunday.

“Everybody wants to be in Europe. Part of the job of being a manager is to make Europe. Some teams have to win leagues but we’ve been great at making Europe for the last three years.

“The downside of that is playing and having to come back from the games in midweek on a Thursday.

“The effort the players put in against Leverkusen was immense and we got very little reward for it.”

England winger Jarrod Bowen, who missed the trip to Germany, is also out of the Fulham game after twisting a hip flexor in the 2-1 win at Wolves eight days ago. He remains a major doubt for the second instalment of the Leverkusen tie.