MAC THE KNIFE

Alexis piles more pressure on Hammers boss

UNDER-PRESSURE David Moyes understands why Hammers fans booed his side following a miserable defeat at Brighton – but insists they do have something to hang on to.

A penalty from the outstanding Alexis Mac Allister and further goals from Joel Veltman, Kaoru Mitoma and Danny Welbeck saw Albion demolish West Ham in emphatic fashion – leaving the visitors only two points adrift of the relegation zone.

But despite chants of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ – from his own fans and not just those in the home stands – Moyes remains defiant.

“I totally understand,” he said. “The fans have been watching a really good team for the last three years.

“A team that has finished sixth or seventh in the Premier League and been getting to the semi-finals in Europe. So it’s hard for them to come and watch that performance.

“But I would hope the fans have seen enough in the last few years to know they have something to hang on to.

“We’ve not had too many days as bad as this so we just have to go back and do our jobs and remember that.”

The frightening thing for Moyes (right) is his team barely laid a glove on Brighton and looked totally devoid of confidence as they chased shadows all afternoon.

By contrast, the result leaves Brighton’s bright young side still in contention for Europe, sitting eighth but with games in hand on those above him. Manager Roberto De Zerbi believes his team can now make a serious challenge.

He said: “The second half was fantastic and we were very good in the first half. It’s not perfection yet, I think we can still improve. “But we are in the right way. The players share my passion to work and I think we can achieve our target because we are strong and we are serious. “It’s not right to speak about being one particular place in the table but we are playing very well and we can try.” Brighton didn’t even need De Zerbi on the bench – he was in the stands after being sent off against Fulham.

But with assistant Andrea Maldera driving the side on they dominated possession and were streets ahead of woeful West Ham.

When Welbeck scored from the edge of the penalty area to make it 4-0 it was game over. But is it over for Moyes too? He deserves time but next weekend’s home game against Aston Villa is crucial.

BRIGHTON: Steele 7; Lamptey 6 (Veltman (16) 7), Webster 6, Dunk 7, Estupinan 7 (Welbeck (76) 7); Gross 7, Caicedo 8; March 8 (Buonanotte (76) 6), Mac Allister 9, Mitoma 8 (Enciso (83) 6); Ferguson 7 (Sarmiento (83) 7)

WEST HAM: Areola 6; Johnson 5, Aguerd 4, Ogbonna 5 (Zouma (69) 5), Emerson 4; Soucek 5 (Downes (75) 5), Rice 5, Lucas Paqueta 4 (Lanzini (75) 5); Bowen 6, Ings 4, Benrahma 6 (Fornals (46) 5)

STAR MAN: Alexis Mac Allister – A goal, an assist and an all-round performance from the World Cup winner.

REF: Stuart Attwell 8