Ahead of West Ham’s trip to Burnley on Monday evening, David Moyes pinpointed the absence of Declan Rice from his team as the reason behind his porous backline. Moyes was asked about why his team have gone from having such a strong defence at the beginning of 2021 to one that has conceded eight goals in four matches since the international break and he responded very matter of factly, saying: “Mostly it is not having Declan Rice.”
David Moyes added: “He’s not a bad player. He played in the game where we drew three each against Arsenal but he is incredibly important. He is back training a little bit we are not sure exactly what level he is at, we have a few days before the game on Monday but he is making good progress and we are happy with what he is doing and I would say he is ahead of schedule. We are trying to keep pushing him on.”
Rice has been pictured in training running on the grass but is yet to be seen in boots and involved in ball work with his teammates so a return at Turf Moor would be unlikely but extremely welcome.
On Antonio David Moyes said: “He is working with the physios and on the grass. I wouldn’t rule him out yet [ for Burnley] but I don’t want to rule him in either. Let’s hope that he’s got a chance.”
David Moyes added: “We’ve got Aaron Cresswell, Declan Rice and Arthur [Masuaku] out. We’ve had a few out so we’re trying to get them all back [for Burnley] if we can.”
In the absence of his key players, West Ham have won two and lost two and a win at Turf Moor will be all the more important after Leicester City dropped points against ten-man Southampton on Friday night.
