CAPTAIN ON DEC

Lampard relies on Mount and sees a lot of himself in the hard-working midfielder

DAVID MOYES wants to make new West Ham history – with a team built around Declan Rice – if he keeps them up this term.

Aaron Cresswell helped celebrate the East London club’s 125th anniversary this week by claiming the England midfielder would go to “another level” at another club with “better players around him”.

But, before hosting Chelsea tonight, Irons boss Moyes claimed Rice (above) can become a West Ham legend by staying at the club.

“There have been some great players at West Ham over the last 125 years,” said the Scot. “Declan Rice is not anywhere close to that level yet, but he is a very, very good player.

“My idea is to build West Ham around him. I see Declan as a future captain of

West Ham.”

Moyes added: “West

Ham have got a fantastic history, but what we want is new history – and I want the chance to make that.

“But the big thing is to win the next four or five games to make sure we’re a Premier League club.”

FRANK LAMPARD has praised “incredible” Mason Mount and recognises elements of himself in the Chelsea midfielder.

The Blues boss admitted he would have been equally upset at being substituted at half time as Mount was in Sunday’s FA Cup tie at Leicester.

But Lampard offered a glowing assessment of the 21-year-old, who has been one of the stand-out players in Chelsea’s impressive season.

Lampard said: “I rely on Mason a lot, I did at Derby, I do at Chelsea. He brings so much to the team in his work ethic and the way he can start the press in midfield, and his quality on the ball, which is only going to get better. It’s already at a really high level.

“Mason wouldn’t have been happy coming off at half-time, I know that because he’s a bit like myself.

“If there is one comparison I could make, I know that when he’s not playing he’s not happy, and when he comes off he won’t be happy.

“But he was straight back to it afterwards because he knows how much I trust in him. He works brilliantly every day,”

Mount is close friends with West Ham’s Declan Rice and the pair (left) both got a telling off early on in lockdown when they were pictured having a kickabout in March.

But Lampard revealed he “had the shortest word possible” with Mount and also said that he hopes he gets one over on his big pal tonight. The Blues manager added: “He was kicking a ball about and that’s so typical of Mason and how he lives his life.

“So I had the shortest ever conversation with Mason. He was pretty apologetic and said he got it wrong straight away and we moved on.

“But there is only one thing I will ask of Mason. He texts Declan tonight, smiles at him in the tunnel, but when they go up against each other, he has to try to beat him in every individual battle he can. I am sensing they will both be like-minded on that one.”

Fabianski, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Noble, Anderson, Fornals, Bowen

Kepa, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso, Kante, Barkley, Mount, Willian, Pedro, Giroud