David Moyes
How big of a step is that win towards safety?
Huge step. To beat Manchester United in a run-in is a huge step. Getting three points is huge against whoever, but against Manchester United was massive for us. Look, probably well-deserved with the way we performed. Players showed great character, great spirit, had to dig deep at times but also, had great moments and played a lot more like the West Ham we’ve probably seen in the last couple of years.
Do you feel a pressure lifted in the dressing room?
Of course, I do, great result going into the semi-final of a European competition. The positivity we will take from it. Playing against such a good side such as Man United, we knew we were up against it, but now, we’ve got another big challenge coming in midweek and now we’ve got another big challenge coming in midweek and now we’ve got to look forward to it.
What did you make of Michail Antonio’s disallowed goal and not getting a penalty in the first half?
Just add it to the other ones that have happened to us in recent games and hope that somewhere along the line in the coming games, we might find that we get a penalty kick or something goes in our favour.
What did you make of Declan Rice’s performance tonight? He is the only player in Europe’s top five leagues with over 30 interceptions, clearances, take-ons completed, aerial duels won, chances created and shots.
Again, he was outstanding tonight but I thought we had some really big performers. No surprising me, he has got a great talent of regaining the ball. You’ve seen him play for England, you’ve seen the abilities he uses in recovering the ball and getting around people. He’s great across the ground, very quick. I’m pleased, but not surprised.
Is there an issue that he will keep catching the eyes of other clubs?
Yes, that’s why he is probably the best English midfield player around and that is why he is going to be extremely expensive if anybody comes calling.
What did you make of the criticism of Tomas Soucek recently, his performance tonight and how is his head injury?
We praised Declan a lot there, I actually thought the three midfielders, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta have got the opportunity to be a really well-balanced midfield because they all offer different things. Tomas tonight gave us a lot of other parts, he heads it out of the box, he does what he has done, he blocks things, he had a couple of chances to score tonight as well. Tomas’ performances have been improving as we’ve gone along. Going back to Lucas Paqueta, who showed magic moments and then some other bits not so good, but overall, I think the balance of the three midfield players were very good. He’s okay with his head, he just got a clash of heads that was all.
Do you think character has allowed you to get through this spell?
Yes, I think the players showed the character they did today. I’ve always sort of thought when you’re in this position, you have to win a big game to get yourself free of trouble. We’ve won a big game. I remember beating Chelsea here 3-2 when I think Yarmolenko scored the winner, which was in a similar situation. There are games which stand out, I remember them. No doubt I’ll remember this game tonight. Beating Manchester United isn’t an easy thing to do, but I have to say, I feel a lot for Manchester United. They had to play this game, Brighton on Thursday. They’ve had to play here again on Sunday night, but the fact that is a two-day recovery, we’ve had that more than any other team in the Premier League this season. I thought it just took the edge out of Manchester United this evening.
How pleasing is it that you feel like you have the midfield blend you have been craving?
I think you have to say Lucas Paqueta had to play as a sort of deep-lying player against Man City, had to defend against the ball in large periods of the game. So, we know that he is capable of doing different jobs. The one I want him to do is make me chances, score me goals and be effective. I think we can give him the ball, I want him to keep it better when he should do. He had a couple of opportunities in the game where he could’ve played people through better, but I’m really pleased. I thought the three of them played really well tonight.
How far off are you where you hoped to be five games ago at the start of the run before AZ Alkmaar?
I think we’re in a much better place. I think winning tonight puts us in a much stronger position. It may be enough come May 28 to say it was enough points but for the moment, while it’s not, we have to keep going and looking to win, but it just gives us a chance to take confidence. I think the crowd were really good tonight, but I think the crowd fed off the players, how well the players performed, they kept at it, kept trying to win the ball back, counter-attacking when they could and we had quite a few attempts at goal, a goal chalked off and maybe a penalty kick. I thought the crowd played a part tonight.
Is it extraordinary VAR didn’t pick that handball up?
Yep. All I can say is it didn’t cost me, it cost me last week when you know, it could’ve made a big difference. We’ve had a couple of decisions we’ve felt as if they don’t go our way and all I can think is hopefully somewhere, in the weeks to come, we’ll get our fair share because those ones have been against us, that’s for sure.
How surprised are you by it?
I think we’re getting to the point where we’re not quite sure where VAR will or won’t intervene. Anyway, it didn’t cost me tonight but, I might have been saying different things if the result didn’t go my way tonight.
Do you feel that your players are finding an extra gear in what is a tiring season?
I think we’ve maybe getting closer to it. There’s been the odd game where we’ve not and that could be down to fatigue, especially the (Crystal) Palace game. I thought we were sort of pomp tonight, sort of at them. Chased them down well when we could, tried to break up play when we could, broke very quickly, fought them for as much as we could and probably earned the right. Maybe if they got the first goal, it would’ve been a different story, because they started the game well. We also got ourselves a chance and we had something to hang on to and it made a big difference.
AZ Alkmaar will be watching tonight. What do you think they would have made of Michail Antonio’s hold-up play?
Bits of it, are very good. Bits of it, not so good. I don’t think there are many centre-halves that would want to play against Micky Antonio, I think he can be a handful. But, I also think we’ve got a different [referee], maybe European referees might see Mick differently and find that his physicality might not quite suit. These are the sorts of things that we’ve found a little bit as we’ve gone along in Europe, so we need to hope that we can [improve] after the experiences we had last year. We went a goal down after two or three minutes here against Frankfurt and we get a player sent off in the second game. We’ve got to try and learn from that, our experiences in Europe. Hopefully, Mick is able to play as well and do as much as he did tonight.
What did you make of Nayef Aguerd’s performance?
I thought he did very well tonight because you’re up against good opponents. You could see, he was the one I was a bit worried about. He was sick, badly sick and he is a boy who doesn’t have any weight at all. Him not being well would mean he was always going to be sort of down. I thought tonight, he looked at the end with his socks down and it’s not like him. He’s a really talented footballer, but still getting used to the rigours and what it means to be a defender in the Premier League, which means you’ve got to be blocking and defending all of the time because there are so many good players in the Premier League. I thought he played very well tonight.
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