APslp’MlprlpWldefsldtsHpalfmd’pMslafprskdNlfopbdlesfrpeldacsphfelsplplplplplplp 500 games..Moyes admits that opponents saw Hammers as too soft to stay the course
PlplplpldfldsplfdpslfpsdlfpdlsfpldspflplplplplNIGEL’S BUZZING FOR NEW HORNETS TERM
DAVID MOYES wants to celebrate Mark Noble’s 500th appearance with the win that will keep West Ham in the Premier League – and prove they are no longer a soft touch.
The Scot’s first match in charge at the club in his first spell was against Watford in November 2017...and striker Marko Arnautovic went off with a sore finger.
Against the same opponents at the London Stadium tonight, the Hammers have to show their mental toughness in a relegation sixpointer, with both teams locked on the 34-point mark.
“The biggest memory of my first game is that Marko
Arnautovic came off with a sore finger,” the Hammers boss recalled.
“And I thought: ‘My goodness what have I got here?’ I want to get away from a West Ham team that is soft. When I was manager at Everton, we always saw West Ham as soft touches.
“I don’t think we’re that now. We’re getting away from the inconsistent West Ham, the flaky West Ham.
“I want us to get away from being a team that you think you can roll over and catch on an off-day. I want more consistency.”
Moyes said skipper
NIGEL PEARSON hopes he will stay in charge of Watford next season – and it will be a formality, if he keeps them up.
Great escape specialist Pearson (left) is on the brink of dodging the trapdoor again after
Noble, who made his West Ham debut in August 2004, belongs in a group of club legends along with Bobby Moore, Trevor Brooking, and Billy Bonds.
“He deserves all the pats on the back he gets,” added Moyes.
“The biggest pat on the back he’ll get from me is if he gets the right result tomorrow night.” Victory would take West Ham, who won 3-1 at Vicarage Road earlier in the season, up to 37 points – and allow planning to begin for next season.
But after the owners previously promised collecting 25 points from his 19 games in charge of the Hornets.
Watford will be all but safe if they win at West Ham tonight – the same goes for the Hammers.
Asked if he would be Watford boss next season, Pearson said: “Hopefully, yes – but now is not
Champions League football, Moyes warned: “Of all the things that I heard in lockdown, the most interesting came from the Archbishop of York. He said ‘promise less and deliver more.’
“And that has to be a little bit of West Ham. We have to make sure we deliver. But we cannot keep promising that we will finish in the high positions. We need to be careful that we don’t promise what we can’t deliver.”
WEST HAM:
WATFORD:
REFEREE: the time to talk about me. I’ve spoken to the club, we have an agreement and that’s fine by me.
“But it’s important that we do everything we can over the last three games to pick up as many points as possible – we’ve got to see the job through.” 799 Billy Bonds
670 Frank Lampard Snr 647 Bobby Moore
643 Trevor Brooking 596 Alvin Martin
548 Jimmy Ruffell
505 Steve Potts, Vic Watson 504 Geoff Hurst
499 Mark Noble
Games 379 Goals 46 (27 pens) Assists 34 Yellow 81 Reds 5