City and Liverpool loom large but Moyes remains optimistic
DAVID MOYES knows West Ham have to rise to the challenge of back-to-back trips to Manchester City and Liverpool.
The Hammers have slipped into the bottom three ahead of the two toughest fixtures of the season, away to the defending champions today and then the runaway leaders at Anfield.
Yet despite a daunting schedule, Moyes remains convinced he can lead his side to survival.
He said: ‘All I can say is, you play everybody twice in the league and we have got a lot of other teams to play.
‘I don’t think in football there’s many tougher matches, only a few clubs in Europe you would call tougher games. But it’s also a challenge.
‘Whoever the best teams are, someone’s out there trying to plot to beat them.
‘We’ll go into both games knowing it’s no easy task, but we’ll try everything we can to get a result.’
Meanwhile, City boss Pep Guardiola claimed he cannot be held responsible if £49million defender John Stones misses out on Euro 2020 due to a lack of game time at Manchester City.
Stones, one of the first names on Gareth Southgate’s team sheet when England reached the World Cup semi-finals two years ago, is struggling for form and has made just 10 Premier League starts this season.
‘I hope John goes with the national team,’ said Guardiola. ‘Of course I want all my players selected for the national teams at the Euros, but I have to think about every game and making decisions about tomorrow and day after day. Not for the future.’