MOYES GLAD TO SEE PAQ BACK

DAVID MOYES hopes to recall Brazil star Lucas Paqueta tonight as West Ham seek to end their desperate run against bogey side Brentford.

The Bees have won all five Premier League meetings and Hammers boss Moyes (inset) is full of admiration for their approach despite limited resources.

But in a timely boost, Paqueta is in contention for a first appearance since injuring his calf at the beginning of January, with Moyes saying his absence is a major reason why they have failed to win in 2024.

“We’ve missed really senior players,” he said.

“We picked up a few injuries.

“Lucas is very close to returning and hopefully that will give us a huge boost.”

Asked what it is exactly about Thomas Frank’s side that West Ham have found so difficult to overcome, Moyes said: “A bit of everything. “They can play, they can be direct, they’re an exceptional team at set-pieces. They maximise their players. “They’ve got a structure of what type of players they want. “They don’t have the budget other teams have but they look for the types of players who fit their model. They’ve done it really well for several seasons now.”

Moyes has gone on the defensive in response to increasingly loud criticism from fans fed up with West Ham’s conservative style – pointing to his overall record across four years in charge, including winning the club’s first trophy since 1980.

Yet his revelation last week that he is stalling on a contract extension has muddled matters, even if he added: “I don’t think it is affecting the players.”