David Moyes has set his side the task of repeating their form of last season and once again qualifying for European football by the end of the current campaign. Moyes led the Hammers to a top-six finish and the Europa League and in the process finished above the so-called ‘big six’ teams Tottenham and Arsenal. It was the first time in 35 years West Ham had finished above both north London clubs in the league and Moyes was asked if it frustrated him that Spurs and Arsenal were considered part of the ‘big six’ when it was the Hammers who actually got themselves into the European spots ahead of their London rivals.
David Moyes said: “No. We’ve got a bit to go yet, before we should get all the plaudits and recognition. We’ve had one season at it, I need to try and get consistency at West Ham, I’d like to try and qualify for European football again if we can. But it is a [tough] task because there are so many good teams in the Premier League at the moment and Tottenham are one of them. We have a lot to prove yet before we get lots of plaudits.”
Moyes hailed his team’s attitude going into the clash with Spurs on Sunday and revealed that, unlike Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who made 11 changes to his team, he wanted to keep a familiar feel to his team in order to build a winning momentum.
David Moyes added: “The players here are doing such a good job. [There is a ] great spirit amongst them, they go into every game with a level of confidence and self-belief that we think we can go and win. So from that point of view, we’ll keep trying it and we’ll keep trying to push on and get results. I can’t speak for Nuno and what he does but I felt I want to continue, I want to keep good momentum at the club, I want to try and challenge on all fronts if I can and yeah, we’ve had this before, we’ve had European games before and we’ve lost a goal in the last minute in two of them so we’re mindful of it. But strangely enough tonight I felt that I was happy to play the players. Maybe the momentum, maybe the regular football might just be better for them. Those teams like Tottenham have been in Europe much longer and more often than we have in recent seasons. So maybe they understand more than we do but at the moment I want my team to win in Europe and I want them to win in the Premier League and I’m trying my best to get that balance right if I can. Nuno will have his own reasons but mine was to go and win tonight, I wanted to get ourselves [in] a position where we had a really good chance of qualifying from this group.”
Moyes is once again aiming to finish above Spurs in the Premier League as he feels this will ensure the Hammers are close to hitting their ambitions of European football if they do so.
David Moyes said: “I think if we can finish above Tottenham, Arsenal, Everton, Leicester, and I know we did not finish above Leicester [last season] but I think if you get to finish above any of those teams, you’re going to put yourself in a really, really good position.”
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