MOYES: SURVIVAL MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER NOW

WARNING AS FINANCE EXPERT SAYS DROP COULD COST £125M

DAVID MOYES has warned staying in the Premier League is more important than ever for West Ham, as they face up to the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis.

His warning comes as a financial expert said the Hammers could lose £125million next season if they are relegated to the Championship.

West Ham play Watford tonight in a crunch game at the bottom, with both teams three points above the drop zone and knowing a win would all but secure their safety.

Co-chairman David Sullivan wrote in the club’s accounts in January that staying up was “an absolute necessity for the future well-being of the club”.

And Moyes says avoiding the drop is even more important now, as the club deal with the harsh realities of the new economic landscape in football.

“It [staying up] will be absolutely massive for this club,” said Moyes. “For us to get anything else other than Premier league will not be good. It is so important. And more important due to the period we have come through; lockdown, no crowds, a difficult period

for a lot of clubs. It is no different for West Ham.”

Financial expert Kieran Maguire today warned West Ham would lose £90m in TV revenue and £18m in commercial revenue should they go down. He also predicts a £17m loss in matchday revenue next season, assuming the London Stadium is at 40 per cent capacity because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Moyes is confident West Ham have enough to beat the drop and he then has grand plans to slowly build something and shun their tag of being a soft touch.

Ahead of tonight’s game at the London Stadium, Moyes says he has taken inspiration from the former Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, in his bid to change the culture at the club.

“Of all the things that I heard in lockdown, the most interesting came from the Archbishop of York,” said Moyes. “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 build the club.”

Watford go into tonight’s match on the back of two wins last week under Nigel Pearson.

Captain Troy Deeney is expected to start after having his knee drained of fluid, having scored two penalties in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Newcastle.

Asked if that brace will give Deeney confidence after he had failed to score in his previous six games, head coach Nigel Pearson said: “Troy enjoys the pressure and if people have been critical, he will want to prove people wrong.”