WEST HAM IN CRISIS
Boss bid to ramp up fear... EXCLUSIVE
DAVID MOYES has claimed his ultimate aim at West Ham is to get his stars playing like Chelsea or Tottenham.
And he wants the London Stadium to be a ground where visiting teams fear to tread.
After the shocking pitch invasions during the defeat by Burnley, it is currently a toxic atmosphere for Moyes and his stars.
But, long term, he aims to change that, saying: “The fans realise we have to get away from trouble and the players have responded to that.
“They don’t want to be booed and until recently the supporters were in the main cheering them for a lot of their performances.
“In the short term the objective is to make sure we have enough points to be towards mid-table rather than the bottom end.
Nervy
“But longer term I want us to play better. I want us to be playing like a Tottenham or a Chelsea. I want teams to not want to be coming here to play us.”
The Hammers have tough games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United in their final eight fixtures as well as six-pointers against relegation rivals Southampton and Stoke.
That will make it a nervy end to the season.
But Moyes insisted: “I have always viewed West Ham as a club with great potential and support.
“When you are a London club it is attractive to players so I’m hoping in the future we can attract the type of player that can get us to be more consistent.” PHIL NEVILLE insists David Moyes is the perfect man to lead West Ham out of a troubled season on and off the pitch.
And with the crisis- torn Hammers still reeling after the disgraceful pitch invasions at the London Stadium eight days ago and an ongoing inquiry, Neville believes the dressing room, at least, is in safe hands with Moyes.
With eight games to go and the club perilously close to the drop zone after three straight Premier League defeats and just one win in their last seven, West Ham are in huge danger.
Moyes whisked his players away from the mayhem for a sunshine training break in Miami.
But, once they return, the 55-year-old Scot will need all the skills he acquired with Everton, Manchester United and even Sunderland.
Neville, now boss of the England women’s team, played and coached under Moyes.
Quality
And he is convinced Moyes has all the attributes to keep the Hammers safe so the club can regroup for next season.
Neville said: “Not many managers would have taken a six-month contract at West Ham.
“Part of the reason he did that was because he wanted to prove to people he still has the fire in his belly and prove to them that he still has the quality too.
“David has a lot of experience in terms of his own managerial qualities, but for the last three years he has been knocked.
“After the Manchester United job, I think he would have learned a great deal and that will be the motivation now to get the opportunity to manage at that kind of level again.
“He probably thought that after being at United, going to Spain to manage Real Sociedad would be a good move for him and maybe a stepping stone back to the Premier League.
“And perhaps that’s why he probably jumped into the Sunderland thing too early.
“It was probably a bad decision to go there.
“He chose a great club at the wrong time with the wrong set of players in the wrong set of circumstances and, having been relegated, now t hey are struggling in the Championship.” Moyes has won just five out of 19 Premier League games in charge in the East End, drawing six and losing eight.
Even though West Ham face a fight for their survival, those are not disastrous stats.
And Neville (above, right) is sure he has seen enough of Moyes’ impact on the Hammers to be confident that they have the right man at the helm.
Organised
“You can see he’s got them organised and fitter,” he said.
“You go into a club and want an instant reaction, but it takes a few games to get the team tuned in to how you want them to play.
“It starts on the training ground with a change of attitude. Initially, he got them organised and harder to beat and I expect him to show his true qualities now.
“For a time, he generated an atmosphere in the team that at least the crowd could feed off and respond to.
“In his second game in charge against Leicester at home, it was the first time during a game at the London Stadium that I’ve seen a positive energy in the ground because they could see the determination in the team.
“David didn’t go to West Ham to finish fourth bottom of the Premier League.
“At the Arsenal game they drew before Christmas, I looked at him on the touchline and saw the David Moyes I recognised.
“I saw the aggression on his face, that burning desire. I thought, ‘He’s got that back’. The mojo and hunger were back.”