Moyes urges fans to back players after Lanzini is jeered off
West Ham crowd cheers playmaker’s substitution Klopp promises side’s intensity will not let up
David Moyes has pleaded with West Ham United’s disgruntled supporters to get behind their players after the substitution of key attacker Manuel Lanzini was cheered during their defeat by Liverpool.
Lanzini was removed from the action after 69 minutes, to be replaced by Pablo Fornals, and the withdrawal of the Argentine prompted cheers from large sections of the home crowd at the London Stadium.
The jeering of the West Ham playmaker comes amid increased anger among the club’s supporters, many of whom have launched protests against co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold in recent weeks.
West Ham remain in 17th place in the Premier League, only avoiding the relegation zone by virtue of their goal difference, and they have the worst form of any club in the league since October.
“He is arguably one of our best players, if not our best player,” said Moyes. “When I was here before I needed him as much as I needed Marko Arnautovic.
“He was such a good player for us and I am desperate to get him back to the levels he was at. I trust him, I believe he can get back to those levels. He has had a bad injury and what I need the supporters to be is right behind him because we need him.
“At the moment he is our flair, he is our person that might make the difference. What he needs is support but I also need him to make sure he does the right things as well. There is nobody more behind him than me.”
Moyes hopes that new signing Tomas Soucek might be ready to play against Brighton this weekend. The Czech Republic midfielder has signed from Slavia Prague on loan, with an option to buy, after the club agreed a loan of around £4 million, with a permanent option of around £17 million.
“He has had a winter break so hopefully he is fresh and ready to go,” said Moyes.
“Why not? I’ve only just met him tonight really, he’s had his medical done but I hope he can be somebody who can help us.”
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp has said he has such faith in his team that he would trust any of them to look after his children, after extending their lead at the top of the Premier League table to 19 points.
The win, the game in hand they hand on their rivals, was the club’s 31st from 32 league games.
“These boys, I would give them my kids to take care of them, so I trust them 100 per cent in this situation,” said Klopp.
The German refuses to accept that Liverpool are now all but confirmed as title winners, insisting the club is going to “hold its breath” until the end of the season and only then look at where they are in the league table.
“I have no idea [if anyone will catch us],” Klopp said. “The first target is to get the maximum points – there are still a lot of games.
“Yes we have 70 points, an incredible number, but so many things can happen. We don’t feel as though anything is done, I promise you. We take a deep breath and then Saturday it’s Southampton.”